Speculation about the case has run rampant online and in Mississippi, and Wells’ family and some of his friends may soon file dueling lawsuits

Several friends who were with Nolan Wells before he vanished from a large Fourth of July party in Mississippi have reportedly joined a fundraiser to help them defend against potential lawsuits as well as pursue claims of “slander and libel” amid intense online scrutiny and speculation about the case.

The fundraiser, on GiveSendGo, has raised more than $90,000 on behalf of Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour.

All three were with Wells, an 18-year-old college student and athlete, on July 4, according to the Sun Herald.

At some point that afternoon, Wells seems to have vanished in plain sight during the large gathering on Horn Island.

Some of Wells’ friends have said he chose to stay behind at the party, with a young woman but without his phone — which his family called bizarre and out of character.

Wells’ body was found on July 6. Much remains unclear about his final hours alive, and his cause of death has not been confirmed.

An official investigation and his family’s own probe are ongoing.

Authorities initially said they saw no signs of foul play and pointed to potential drowning in an area known for rip currents, but they have since stopped commenting publicly.

The unusual case stoked intense discussion locally and on social media, where numerous theories have run rampant.

Since the start, Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, said they want a thorough and transparent investigation, pushing back on the belief that he drowned.

“The only question we have,” Wells’ mom told reporters last month, “is what happened to our son?”

They have also said they worry race could be a factor, given Mississippi’s fraught history.

Their attorney, Ben Crump, singled out Wells’ White friends in particular, and Wells’ family has reportedly sent legal notices to Hudson’s family and others indicating they’ll file litigation.

Both the teen’s family and his friends have said they’ve been subjected to harassment, threats and hateful messages.

The new fundraiser — which follows a previous fundraiser for Wells’ parents that drew more than $800,000 — underscores how fractious the matter has become.

According to their new fundraiser, Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour have “been inundated with death threats, threats of violence, and defamation … [and] falsely and wrongly blamed by individuals online and in the media of either directly or indirectly having a hand in Nolan’s death.”

The fundraiser, organized by Hudson’s father, Benjamin Hudson, contends that the focus on race is distorting the investigation: “Race baiters sent a deranged army after them online in the name of ‘justice,’ ” he said.

“This fund is created for the sole purpose of fighting these individuals,” Hudson’s dad told the Sun Herald. (He has declined to speak with PEOPLE.)

Law enforcement previously said Wells’ friends were cooperating with them.

Hudson’s father, who like others has offered reward money for answers, reiterated that on the fundraiser: “Since the beginning of the investigation, these young men have cooperated with authorities, turned over all the information they had, and provided an overwhelming number of witnesses accounting for their whereabouts.”

Hudson first called Wells’ mom late on July 4 with concerns about him being missing.

He has also spoken out in an interview with the conservative commentator Brandon Tatum.

The money raised on GiveSendGo is intended for him and the other two to “defend … against incoming wrongful death actions” and to “fund a robust legal team to sue for the litany of slander and libel being spread.”

The fundraiser called out Crump along with unnamed “social media influencers, news outlets, and local provocateurs.”

“This is not about silencing legitimate discussion or respectful disagreement,” the fundraiser states. “People are free to ask questions and express opinions. This is about drawing a line against defamation, targeted harassment, threats of violence, doxxing, intimidation, and coordinated campaigns that destroy lives before the facts are known.”

Asked about the potential lawsuits at a news conference last week, Crump called it a “distraction” from the family’s ultimate pursuit of truth.

In a video on social media on Sunday, Aug. 2, Wells’ mom said “my husband and I are going to continue to advocate. … If you have an issue with me advocating and asking questions, I don’t think I’m the problem.”

“I am asking for answers, that is it, that is all. Never asked for special treatment, none of that,” Christine continued.

She grew emotional, choking back tears, as she talked about the “soul-wrenching hurt” of her son’s death.

“You feel like your heart is being ripped out,” she said.

Source: https://people.com/nolan-wells-friends-raise-thousands-for-defense-fund-potential-lawsuits-12032852