Harrison Floyd has asked a judge to ease conditions for his bond in the Fulton County racketeering case because he wants to work on the re-election campaign of his codefendant, Donald Trump, and also speak about the former president on social media.
Floyd, who was indicted on three felony counts stemming from his efforts to meddle in the 2020 election on behalf of Trump, is prohibited from having contact with codefendants or witnesses in the case. But he wants permission to have contact with Trump and other unnamed defendants and witnesses so he can help Trump reclaim the White House. The former head of Black Voices for Trump, Floyd also wants permission to speak about Trump and others on social media – a privilege he lost last fall after posting comments that some witnesses interpreted as intimidating.
At a hearing Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he was not inclined to allow Floyd to have contact with Trump or other defendants or witnesses. But he was open to relaxing some terms of Floyd’s bond – including allowing him to comment on current events.
Floyd is one of 19 people charged last summer in the sweeping election interference case. He allegedly pressured Fulton County election worker Ruby Freman to confess to false voting fraud allegations.
Last November, prosecutors sought to revoke Floyd’s bond, citing social media posts in which Floyd tagged witnesses and fellow defendants. For example, he tagged Jenna Ellis – who has pleaded guilty to one count in the case – in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that suggested she was “stealing” money raised for her defense. Ellis told prosecutors she saw the post and believed it was intended to intimidate and harass her.
McAfee declined to revoke Floyd’s bond – a move that would have resulted in the defendant spending more time in jail. Instead, the judge banned him from speaking publicly or making social media posts about witnesses or defendants in the case.
Now Floyd is seeking to relax those restrictions. His attorney, Christopher Kachouroff, said Floyd wants to resume his role as a paid Trump campaign operative. That could involve some direct or indirect communication with the former president, Kachouroff said.
In a campaign role, Kachouroff said Floyd also might need to have contact with other codefendants or unindicted co-conspirators in the case. He said the court could still prohibit Floyd from speaking with them about the case itself.
Kachouroff said Floyd also wants to speak freely about his case on social media to raise money for his defense.
Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade objected. He noted that other defendants also are under such “no contact” restrictions. And he said it would be impossible to monitor whether the defendants were communicating about the case.
McAfee did not issue a formal ruling. But he said he was not inclined to allow Floyd to communicate with Trump, other co-defendants or witnesses.
The judge said he might be willing to allow Floyd to comment about current events on social media.
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