The last of President Donald J. Trump’s 18 co-defendants to be released post-arraignment stepped outside the Fulton County Jail Wednesday morning and told “Bannon’s War Room” host Stephen K. Bannon why he thought he was held for five days.
“The state of Georgia, and I’m a black man. I don’t know if I can say much more,” said Harrison Floyd, the executive director of Black Voices of Trump.
Bannon asked Floyd about his charges.
“To keep it frank and simple, Fulton County fumbled the coverup, and I am aware of what transpired, and they’re trying to put pressure on me and others to make sure that the truth doesn’t come out,” he said.
“The truth always has a way of finding its way to the surface, sir, so it’s going to be; I’m looking forward to being down here and fighting the devil in Georgia,” he said.
Floyd was released on a $100,000 bond.
The martial arts instructor reported to Fulton County Jail for his booking Aug. 24, the same day as President Donald J. Trump, but unlike the president, he was held overnight for an appearance in front of the judge the next morning.
In the morning, Judge Emily Richardson denied his request for release, and he was also denied access to a public defender.
The Marine veteran also faces federal charges in Maryland connected to an interview with two FBI agents that went the wrong way. The FBI agents claimed they encountered Floyd to serve him with a grand jury subpoena. His legal obligations to the Maryland case could complicate his Fulton County case.
When Bannon heard Floyd was struggling to afford a legal team, he urged his “War Room Posse” and supporters to pitch in, and they raised more than $200,000 for his defense.
“We’re honored to make sure that you got a great team. Pat McSweeney and Chris are two tough lawyers, so you got a great team,” Bannon told Floyd. Chris Kachouroff is working on his Floyd’s Maryland case.”
Floyd’s interactions with Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman, one of the workers counting ballots on Election Night 2020, led to his indictment. Freeman witnessed confusion at the State Farm Arena when some workers thought the counting was stopping for the night, but the counting resumed through the morning.
The Fulton County grand jury, led by District Attorney Fani Willis, indicted Floyd on three of the 41 counts spelled out in the indictment.
Willis crafted a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, case against the 19 defendants, in effect arguing that Trump and his advisors and allies were a criminal enterprise seeking to defraud Georgia voters of their 16 electoral votes.
Using Georgia’s racketeering (RICO) statute, Willis strung together various actions that by themselves are perfectly legal, such as sending an email or making a phone call, and included them in the indictment by arguing that these acts were in furtherance of the so-called criminal enterprise.
Floyd was charged with the first count, the RICO charge, and the counts 30 and 31, which are tied to his interactions with Freeman. Willis charged Floyd pressured Freeman to make a false statement and offered her help and protection.
Floyd said Willis, the daughter of a Black Panther, targeted him because he dared to step into the limelight as a black Republican and Trump supporter.
“Part of the Black culture is always voting Democrat. I went against the code, if you will, at the highest order,” Floyd said.
“The district attorney decided she wanted to send me what we call a Negro wake-up call,” he said.
“She dialed the wrong number, because it didn’t go through.”
