'Rebel Ridge' Stars Praise Netflix Movie For Exposing 'Injustice Of Civil Asset Forfeiture'

Aaron Pierre, whose character has thousands in cash taken from him by police, says the film highlights a real issue.

The stars of Netflix’s new thriller are speaking out about the very real “injustice” behind the film: civil asset forfeiture.

“Rebel Ridge” was only released Friday, but has already become the No. 1 movie on the streaming platform. The film, directed by Jeremy Saulnier, follows a fictional U.S. Marine (Aaron Pierre) who has thousands in cash legally seized from him by Alabama police while he’s on his way to bail his cousin out of jail.

Pierre’s character, Terry Richmond, “is a Black man experiencing the intensity and severity, and in this particular case, the injustice, of civil asset forfeiture,” Pierre told Entertainment Weekly in an interview Friday, adding that the film “highlights our ability as individuals to actively not be complicit.”

But Richmond is no typical veteran. He enlists the help of a local court clerk (AnnaSophia Robb), who learns that justice doesn’t always wear a badge.

Civil asset forfeiture ― when law enforcement agencies seize private property they claim was involved in a crime ― is entirely legal in most states, as the ACLU explains. It’s even legal for law enforcement to keep the property if the owner is never charged with a crime.