[ad_1]
NEW DELHI: In the Georgia election interference case, involving former President Donald Trump, only one out of the 18 co-defendants has been incarcerated due to the charges.
During his initial court appearance on Friday, defendant Harrison Floyd received notice that he would be held for an extended period at the Fulton County Jail due to concerns about his potential as a flight risk.
Floyd objected to the notion that he might not attend future proceedings in the case.
He told Judge Emily Richardson “There’s no way that I’m a flight risk, ma’am,” after she rejected his bond request.
In reference to Trump he added “I showed up before the president was here”.
Floyd, who faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy, and witness tampering, voluntarily surrendered himself on Thursday afternoon, preceding Trump’s brief visit to the jail that evening, which lasted 20 minutes. According to prosecutors, Floyd, the former leader of Black Voices for Trump and the sole Black man among the defendants, was implicated in a plot to coerce election worker Ruby Freeman into providing false statements. Freeman had been wrongly accused of election fraud by Trump and his supporters.
Floyd, unlike the other defendants in the case, did not have legal counsel to negotiate a bond agreement with prosecutors prior to his surrender.
Judge Richardson, during Friday’s hearing asked Floyd whether he had any legal representation, to which he said he did not. He mentioned that the attorneys he had consulted with quoted fees ranging from $40,000 to $100,000, stating, “I can’t put my family in that kind of debt.”
He also mentioned that he had applied for a public defender but was turned down. Judge Richardson informed him that he did not meet the criteria for a public defender.
Richardson further explained that Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who will preside over the election interference case, “will go through the process if you choose to represent yourself and to not retain a lawyer. He will go through that process and those questions with you.”
Richardson mentioned that one of the factors contributing to her denial of bond on Friday was a pending case involving an alleged assault on a federal officer earlier this year.
As stated in an affidavit related to that case, Floyd assaulted two FBI special agents who had delivered a federal grand jury subpoena to his residence in Maryland in connection with special counsel Jack Smith’s election probe.
According to the affidavit, Floyd body-slammed one of the agents as they were leaving and continuously bumped into him while hurling profanities. Consequently, he was charged with assaulting a federal officer.
Judge Richardson added, “I do find that based on the open charge against you there are grounds for bond to be denied at this point”. “So I’m going to go ahead and find that you are at risk to commit additional felonies and a potential risk to flee the jurisdiction”.
She further informed Floyd that the matter is ultimately “not going to be decided by me. It’s going to be decided by the judge who was assigned to handle your case.”
The date for Floyd’s next court appearance remains undetermined at this point.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had established a noon deadline on Friday for all the defendants to surrender. The final defendant to comply with this deadline was Stephen Lee, a pastor from Illinois, who reportedly engaged Floyd’s assistance in pressuring Freeman.
(With agency inputs)
During his initial court appearance on Friday, defendant Harrison Floyd received notice that he would be held for an extended period at the Fulton County Jail due to concerns about his potential as a flight risk.
Floyd objected to the notion that he might not attend future proceedings in the case.
He told Judge Emily Richardson “There’s no way that I’m a flight risk, ma’am,” after she rejected his bond request.
In reference to Trump he added “I showed up before the president was here”.
Floyd, who faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy, and witness tampering, voluntarily surrendered himself on Thursday afternoon, preceding Trump’s brief visit to the jail that evening, which lasted 20 minutes. According to prosecutors, Floyd, the former leader of Black Voices for Trump and the sole Black man among the defendants, was implicated in a plot to coerce election worker Ruby Freeman into providing false statements. Freeman had been wrongly accused of election fraud by Trump and his supporters.
Floyd, unlike the other defendants in the case, did not have legal counsel to negotiate a bond agreement with prosecutors prior to his surrender.
Judge Richardson, during Friday’s hearing asked Floyd whether he had any legal representation, to which he said he did not. He mentioned that the attorneys he had consulted with quoted fees ranging from $40,000 to $100,000, stating, “I can’t put my family in that kind of debt.”
He also mentioned that he had applied for a public defender but was turned down. Judge Richardson informed him that he did not meet the criteria for a public defender.
Richardson further explained that Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who will preside over the election interference case, “will go through the process if you choose to represent yourself and to not retain a lawyer. He will go through that process and those questions with you.”
Richardson mentioned that one of the factors contributing to her denial of bond on Friday was a pending case involving an alleged assault on a federal officer earlier this year.
As stated in an affidavit related to that case, Floyd assaulted two FBI special agents who had delivered a federal grand jury subpoena to his residence in Maryland in connection with special counsel Jack Smith’s election probe.
According to the affidavit, Floyd body-slammed one of the agents as they were leaving and continuously bumped into him while hurling profanities. Consequently, he was charged with assaulting a federal officer.
Judge Richardson added, “I do find that based on the open charge against you there are grounds for bond to be denied at this point”. “So I’m going to go ahead and find that you are at risk to commit additional felonies and a potential risk to flee the jurisdiction”.
She further informed Floyd that the matter is ultimately “not going to be decided by me. It’s going to be decided by the judge who was assigned to handle your case.”
The date for Floyd’s next court appearance remains undetermined at this point.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had established a noon deadline on Friday for all the defendants to surrender. The final defendant to comply with this deadline was Stephen Lee, a pastor from Illinois, who reportedly engaged Floyd’s assistance in pressuring Freeman.
(With agency inputs)
#Donald #Trump #codefendant #jail #showed #president
