The leaders of True the Vote, an organization that has spread unfounded claims questioning the results of the 2020 election, were taken into custody Monday morning after a federal judge in Texas ruled them in contempt of court.
Founder Catherine Engelbrecht and former board member Gregg Phillips were escorted by federal marshals out of a Houston courthouse and into a holding cell following the judge’s decision.
The order marked the latest twist in a defamation case brought last month by Konnech, an election software company that True the Vote claimed allowed the Chinese government to have access to a server in China that held the personal information of nearly 2 million U.S. election workers. Konnech has vigorously disputed the claim.
The judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, had ordered Engelbrecht and Phillips to reveal the name of a person who allegedly helped True the Vote access Konnech’s computer systems.
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When they declined to meet the court’s 9 a.m. deadline, the judge found them in contempt. The pair have claimed, without evidence, that the person who helped them was a confidential FBI informant.
In a statement, Engelbrecht said that “we will be held in jail until we agree to give up the name of a person we believe was not covered under the terms of the judge’s” order.
Michael J. Wynne, a lawyer for Engelbrecht and Phillips, said that “we’re looking at alternate remedies” and declined further comment. Katie Breen, a...
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