Ga. judge to weigh revoking Trump co-defendant Harrison Floyd's bond over social media posts - newsflash.me

A judge will perceive arguments Tuesday connected nan Fulton County territory attorney's petition to revoke nan enslaved of Harrison Floyd, 1 of erstwhile President Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants successful nan Georgia predetermination interference case, complete societal media posts that prosecutors said are “intentional and flagrant violations” of his enslaved conditions.

In a motion past week to revoke Floyd’s bond, District Attorney Fani Willis' agency cited Floyd’s posts connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, targeting Georgia elections officials specified arsenic Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gabriel Sterling arsenic good arsenic predetermination worker Ruby Freeman.

“Since November 1, 2023, nan Defendant has publically tweeted aggregate times from nan Twitter relationship @hw_floyd successful an effort to intimidate codefendants and witnesses, to pass straight and indirectly pinch codefendants and witnesses, and to different obstruct nan management of justice,” Willis wrote successful nan filing.

“As group distant above, since his merchandise from custody, nan Defendant has engaged successful a shape of intimidation toward known codefendants and witnesses, nonstop and indirect connection astir nan facts of this lawsuit to known codefendants and witnesses, and obstruction of nan management of justness successful nonstop usurpation of this Court’s order,” she continued.

Harrison Floyd.Fulton County Sheriff's Office

In her filing, Willis cited much than 15 comments by Floyd successful a bid of posts to X arsenic good arsenic an quality connected a podcast. One of Floyd’s posts that Willis alleged constituted “an enactment to intimidate known witnesses and nonstop connection pinch known witnesses astir nan facts of nan case” read: “Passing this on to @GaSecofState and @GabrielSterling. Should they beryllium much concerned astir interfering successful elections, perjury earlier Congress, lying to DA Fani Willis, aliases each nan above?”

Floyd posted nan remark earlier this period successful consequence to a personification who suggested he “get immoderate decent ineligible proposal earlier you upwind up spending 20 years successful situation for personification who could attraction little astir your sorry a**.”

Floyd’s attorneys denied successful a filing Monday that his societal media posts violated his enslaved bid and said nan mobility is simply a “retaliatory measure” against him.

“In exercising his First Amendment rights, Mr. Floyd neither threatened aliases intimidated anyone and he surely did not pass pinch a witnesser aliases co-defendant straight aliases indirectly. He has nary thought who nan State’s witnesses moreover are astatine this point,” they wrote successful nan filing. “If this genuinely were an issue, nan State had each opportunity to notify Mr. Floyd aliases his counsel that his posts connected societal media were a problem.” 

Floyd’s attorneys said he was successful plea negotiations conscionable “weeks ago” and that Willis’ agency did not mention nan societal media posts referenced successful nan mobility to revoke his bond.

“All of Mr. Floyd’s posts represent governmental speech, nan touchstone of First Amendment guarantees," they wrote. "None of them incorporate immoderate threat to usage unit that would make a reasonable personification judge nan posts were someway intimidating aliases unlawful."

In consequence to allegations that his tweets astir Freeman were an effort to intimidate her, Floyd’s attorneys besides based on that Freeman’s grounds is really adjuvant for his case. 

“It is Mr. Floyd’s position that Ms. Freeman is simply a valuable defense witnesser — not a witnesser favorable to nan prosecution. There is not a chance Mr. Floyd would want to intimidate Ms. Freeman,” they wrote.

Floyd’s attorneys besides demanded prosecutors show grounds that Freeman has suffered harm arsenic a consequence of their client's posts and asked Judge Scott McAfee to cull nan mobility aliases see connection that would “mirror” erstwhile President Donald Trump’s enslaved order.

Prosecutors successful nan Georgia predetermination interference lawsuit person accused Floyd of engagement successful a scheme to unit Freeman to make mendacious statements. Trump and his friends had falsely accused Freeman of fraud successful nan 2020 election.

Floyd, nan erstwhile leader of Black Voices for Trump, was nan only suspect successful nan lawsuit who was held successful jail aft surrendering successful August. All of nan different defendants, including Trump, were released connected enslaved aft they were booked. Floyd was informed during his first tribunal quality that he’d stay astatine nan Fulton County Jail because he was considered a imaginable formation risk.

Floyd negotiated a bond days later. McAfee group Floyd’s enslaved astatine $100,000 — pinch $40,000 connected racketeering charges and $30,000 each connected a complaint of influencing witnesses and a complaint of colluding to perpetrate inducement of mendacious statements and writings.