A GW alum remains behind bars after his arrest in the Georgia election interference case that also saw former President Donald Trump indicted.
Harrison Floyd, a former leader of Black Voices for Trump and one of 19 co-defendants in the case, remains in a Fulton County, Georgia jail after being charged with three counts related to efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. Floyd, who opened but did not respond to The Hatchet’s request for comment over Instagram, told a judge he could not afford a private attorney and was denied bond.
Floyd faces three charges in the case that captured international headlines earlier this month: racketeering, conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings, and influencing witnesses. He surrendered to authorities Thursday, hours before Trump arrived in Atlanta for his arrest.
Floyd, who hasn’t specifically commented about his indictment, graduated from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences in 2017 and later from the Graduate School of Political Management in 2019. Floyd brushed off online criticism earlier this month, tweeting, “Patience is a virtue.”
Harrison told Judge Emily Richardson at his first court appearance that he did not qualify for a public defender and couldn’t afford a private attorney, according to Reuters. Floyd ran for Congress in Georgia’s 7th District in 2020 but dropped out of the race less than a month after his launch in June 2019.
Before coming to GW, Floyd enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during his senior year of high school and graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in January 2004, according to the University Club in D.C.
The indictment states that Floyd and other defendants in the case allegedly solicited Ruby Freeman, an election worker in Fulton County during the 2020 election, to engage in criminal activity by “knowingly and willfully making a false statement and representation concerning events at State Farm Arena in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia.”
Election deniers allegedly targeted Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, after the former president and his allies spread baseless allegations that the women handled suitcases of fraudulent ballots. The duo received threats and harassment because of the allegations, causing Moss to move out of her suburban home of more than 20 years, according to ABC News.
The indictment also shows the numerous efforts Floyd and other defendants took to try to undermine the integrity of the election, including telling Freeman she needed protection and claiming they would help her in an attempt to influence her testimony.
Zach Blackburn contributed reporting.
