A deluge of mugshots taken from a Fulton County, Georgia, jail went viral in mid-August 2023 after former U.S President Donald Trump and 18 co-conspirators surrendered to authorities on charges related to trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.
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Some social media posts highlighted one mugshot in particular — that of pro-Trump, Lutheran pastor Stephan Cliffgard Lee — as evidence of Democratic party politicization gone awry. "How the hell do you lock [a] priest up," an account using the wrong religious title posted on X:
The pastor was never "locked up" — like all but one defendant, he was released the same day he surrendered. He was, however, accused in an Aug. 14, 2023, indictment of participating in efforts to influence election worker Ruby Freeman and to "make her falsely confess to election crimes that she did not commit."
Two charges of "influencing witnesses" stem from actions Lee allegedly took in mid-December 2020. Lee reportedly twice attempted to contact Freeman at her home, speaking with a neighbor on his first attempt and briefly making contact with her on his second, a day later. When he wouldn't leave, Freeman called the police. Reuters obtained police bodycam footage of their interaction with Lee:
Exclusive: A police chaplain named Steve Lee was part of a failed effort to pressure a Georgia election worker to admit to voting fraud that never occurred. Police bodycam footage in Dec. 2020 shows him parked...
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