Judge declines to revoke bond for Trump co-defendant
Harrison Floyd remains free on bond, but bond conditions could be changed.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Harrison Floyd, the only co-defendant in former President Donald Trump’s massive organized-crime indictment to be jailed, remains free on bond after a hearing was held Tuesday on whether that bond should be revoked.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis personally argued Floyd’s bond should be revoked to Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who declined to do so.
However, Floyd’s bond conditions may be changed, McAfee ruled. McAfee was set to meet late Tuesday afternoon with both prosecutors and defense attorneys to determine any changes to Floyd’s bond.
Willis requested last week that Floyd’s $100,000 bond be revoked. Willis alleged Floyd violated his bond conditions by posting to X, formerly known as Twitter, “in an effort to intimidate codefendants and witnesses, to communicate directly and indirectly with codefendants and witnesses, and to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.”
His actions amounted to “intentional and flagrant violations” of his bond conditions, prosecutors said.
“He doesn’t get an, ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ after I’ve already intimidated the witnesses in this case,’ ” Willis said. “It’s too late. You should not have done this; you knew it was against the rules; you put some in danger as a result of doing it; and now, you need to be held accountable for it so that we can make sure that all of the defendants in this case get a fair trial and that witnesses are kept safe.”
“He doesn’t want to find himself back in this position again; he’s not looking to stroke the ire of the judge,” said Floyd attorney John Morrison. “(The judge) was placing this order in place for now and then we’ll work on those to make sure that he has his First Amendment rights. That’s what everyone wants to see.”
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office, testified at Tuesday’s hearing, as did Von DuBose, an attorney representing Fulton election worker Ruby Freeman, who has been named a witness in Trump’s upcoming Georgia trial.
Floyd is accused of recruiting Steven Cliffgard Lee to arrange a meeting with Freeman and Chicago-based publicist Trevian Kutti. Both Kutti and Lee are also co-defendants in Trump’s Fulton County indictment.
Prosecutors allege Kutti, a publicist, claimed to have high-level law enforcement connections. They say Freeman met with Kutti at a police precinct, where she brought Floyd into the conversation on a speakerphone. Prosecutors say Kutti presented herself as someone who could help Freeman but then pressured her to falsely confess to election fraud.
Morrison tried unsuccessfully to challenge the authenticity of Floyd’s tweets. However, another Floyd attorney, Chris Kachouroff, said Floyd’s tweets did not amount to direct or indirect communication with any of the other Trump co-defendants, which was prohibited by his bond agreement.
BELOW: Why Fani Willis wanted to revoke Harrison Floyd’s bond
Harrison Floyd Bond Revoke by Lindsey Basye on Scribd
After McAfee’s ruling, Willis said she was concerned for Freeman’s safety.
Floyd was one of the last Trump co-defendants to surrender at the Fulton County jail, and the only one who did not arrange a bond settlement before turning himself in.
Last week, Kachouroff told the Associated Press Willis’ attempt to revoke his client’s bond was nonsense, and that “she’s not going to get it granted.” Kachouroff also said he plans to file a motion to disqualify Willis from the prosecution “because of her personal animus against my client.”
After Willis filed a motion to revoke Floyd’s bond, Floyd took to social media to condemn her request.
“No one should be afraid of telling the truth, especially in America,” Floyd said on X (formerly known as Twitter.) “I’ve Done Nothing Wrong.”
In another post, Floyd said, “If you really cared about Black Men, 10 wouldn’t have died in 9 months at the Fulton County Jail! You’re revoking my bond WHILE YOU’RE AT A FUNDRAISER for re-election. Did someone pay you for this?”
Trump is facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases in Washington, New York, Florida and Georgia and could potentially be looking at years in prison if convicted.
Trump is charged alongside others — including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss.
The indictment, handed up in August, accuses Trump or his allies of suggesting Raffensperger could find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassing an election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of Electoral College electors favorable to Trump.
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