Georgia prosecutors ask judge to jail election subversion defendant over ‘effort to intimidate’ witnesses

By Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole, CNN

(CNN) — Fulton County prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday to jail Harrison Floyd, who is charged in the 2020 election subversion case in Georgia, because of his alleged “effort to intimidate codefendants and witnesses,” according to court filings.

This is the first time Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked to revoke someone’s bond in the case.

Prosecutors highlighted Floyd’s recent social media posts about Georgia election officials who are likely to be called as witnesses in the case, as well as his recent comments on a conservative podcast about Jenna Ellis, who pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate.

“The Defendant’s actions demonstrate that he poses a significant threat of intimidating witnesses and otherwise obstructing the administration of justice in the future, making him ineligible for bond,” prosecutors wrote in the court filing.

Floyd’s legal team declined to comment to CNN, saying they have just begun reading the filing.

Floyd, the leader of Black Voices for Trump, pleaded not guilty to three state felonies, largely tied to his role in an intimidation campaign targeting two Atlanta election workers in late 2020. Former President Donald Trump and his allies falsely accused the workers of massive voter fraud.

Floyd is the only defendant who spent time in jail in connection with the case. He was incarcerated at the Fulton County Jail for one week in August before reaching a bond deal with prosecutors.

Prosecutors point to more than a dozen public statements by Floyd they say violate the terms of his bond agreement, including ones directly targeting Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman, who is a witness in the case.

“Since his release from custody, the Defendant has engaged in numerous intentional and flagrant violations of the conditions of release ordered by the Court,” they wrote in their filing.

In a Tuesday post on Floyd’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, he questions why his team was accused of leaking videos of conversations between another defendant and prosecutors, invoking Freeman.

“Why would my team leak Jenna Ellis & proffer videos when there is better stuff? For instance, Ruby Freeman’s job was the reconciliation of ballots,” he wrote. “She wasn’t even supposed to be on a scanner !!!!!!”

Prosecutors said that Freeman “has been a frequent target of the Defendant’s intimidating communications,” adding: “Because of and in response to the Defendant’s intimidating communications, witness Ruby Freeman has been the subject of renewed threats of violence from third parties.”

In another post from November 1, Floyd tweeted at Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling, writing: “Should they be more concerned about interfering in elections, perjury before Congress, lying to DA Fani Willis, or all the above?”

In May, Floyd was charged with simple assault of a federal officer who was delivering a subpoena to Floyd to testify before a grand jury in Washington, DC.

The affidavit says that Floyd threatened two FBI agents who served him with the subpoena at his Maryland apartment in February and ran after them. Floyd allegedly struck one agent “chest to chest” during the incident.

CNN’s Jason Morris and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

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