Snopes: Was Pastor Among 18 Trump Co-Defendants Arrested in Georgia Election Case?

Source: Snopes

Was Pastor Among 18 Trump Co-Defendants Arrested in Georgia Election Case?

Stephan Cliffgard Lee faces several charges related to influencing a witness to make false statements about election fraud.

By Alex Kasprak
Published Aug 28, 2023

Claim:
A pastor was among the 18 co-defendants arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, in a case centered on former U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in that state.

Rating: True

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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:

Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives
@dom_lucre

Democrats know they went too far. How the hell you lock priest up on RICO charges for Trump?

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. ...

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Read more: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pastor-trump-codefendant-georgia-election-case/

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Earlier DU thread: Illinois pastor charged in indictment with Trump to turn himself in Friday

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