WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 27: (L-R) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) rally with fellow members of Congress on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court February 27, 2013 in Washington, DC. Leaders from Congress joined civil rights icons to rally as the court prepared to hear oral arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, a legal challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A former congresswoman from North Florida who has spent more than two years behind bars following her conviction on fraud charges was released early due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was released from the prison located in Sumter County, where she has been serving a five-year sentence since January 2018. Brown’s attorney previously argued she suffers from several medical issues that put her at severe risk of catching the virus, according to NBC affiliate WESH-TV.
Brown represented a district in the Jacksonville area and other parts of North Florida for 12 terms before losing in the Democratic Party primary in 2016.
The 73-year-old was convicted after she lied on several forms about her income and tax returns about an alleged charity she ran for poor students that officials say she used as a personal slush fund.
Officials did not say if she would be required to return to jail to finish her sentence once the pandemic has come to an end.
