US judge denies bail to black Trump supporter — RT World News

A Georgia judge has denied bail and refused to appoint a court-provided protection lawyer for the previous director of Black Voices for Trump, which means that at the very least for now, he will probably be detained in one among America’s most harmful jails whereas awaiting trial on allegations that he allegedly tried to assist overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat within the state.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Emily Richardson made the ruling on Friday, making Harrison Floyd the one defendant among the many 19 individuals charged within the Georgia Trump case to stay jailed whereas the prosecutions are pending. He is one among two black defendants. Trump and 17 different defendants have been launched underneath pre-arranged bond agreements after being booked on the Fulton County jail this week.

“I do find that based on the open charge against you, there are grounds for bond to be denied at this point, so I’m going to go ahead and find that you are at risk to commit additional felonies and a potential risk to flee the jurisdiction,” Judge Emily Richardson mentioned. The pending case that she referenced is a misdemeanor assault cost filed in opposition to Floyd over a confrontation with two FBI brokers who served him a grand jury summons earlier this yr in Maryland.

Floyd voluntary reported to the Fulton County Jail on Thursday to face prices of witness tampering, conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements, and violating Georgia’s racketeering regulation. He allegedly tried to strain a Fulton County election employee to falsely admit that she stole votes from Trump.

“I’m already on federal pretrial supervision,” Floyd informed Richardson. “I’ve had no issues with being on pretrial supervision. There’s no way that I’m a flight risk, ma’am. I showed up before the president.”

Richardson replied that full consideration to Floyd’s bond will probably be given when the case is taken up by the judge assigned to his case, Scott McAfee. After Floyd claimed that he doesn’t have the $40,000 to $100,000 it will take to retain a protection lawyer, Richardson mentioned he might both discover a manner to rent an lawyer or signify himself when McAfee takes over the case.

Meanwhile, Floyd will probably be incarcerated on the Fulton County Jail. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation of the power final month on allegations of unsafe circumstances. The jail was reportedly working at 120% of capability as of April, and over 91% of the inmates have been like Floyd – defendants awaiting trial who hadn’t been convicted of the crime for which they have been being held. The facility has been suffering from violence, together with stabbings and assaults on healthcare employees, in addition to extreme power by jailers.

The DOJ mentioned it discovered credible allegations that the jail was structurally unsafe. A homeless man held within the jail’s psychiatric wing was discovered useless in his cell and coated with bugs final September. Family members claimed that he was “eaten alive by insects and bed bugs.” A 66-year-old shoplifting suspect died within the jail final week, the third such dying in a month.

Richardson’s ruling denying bail stirred on-line outrage, together with claims that the court docket was attempting to ship a message to black individuals who would possibly dare to help Trump. “While Dems push cash bail for hardened criminals, Harrison Floyd sits in a jail cell with no bond,” US Representative Burgess Owens (R-Utah) mentioned in a submit on X (previously Twitter). “I guess the laws of equity don’t apply to black Trump supporters.”

Financial assist seems to be on the way in which for Floyd. An on-line crowdfunding marketing campaign for his authorized protection had raised greater than $180,000 as of Saturday afternoon. These funds would possibly allow him to rent a lawyer and submit bail, if and when the court docket grants him bond.