CBS News reports, “BREAKING: 39-year-old Enrique Tarrio, once the top leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for orchestrating the failed plot to forcibly block the peaceful transfer of power from Joe Biden to Donald Trump following the 2020 presidential election.”
BREAKING: 39-year-old Enrique Tarrio, once the top leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for orchestrating the failed plot to forcibly block the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election. pic.twitter.com/gw07M2zS4K
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 5, 2023
According to CNN, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and the remaining defendants in the election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, have entered not guilty pleas and waived their arraignments, according to recent court filings.
Misty Hampton, one of the defendants facing charges related to the Coffee County voting system breach, was the final holdout among the 19 defendants in District Attorney Fani Willis’ case and entered her plea on Tuesday. Other defendants had submitted their pleas in recent days.
Arraignment hearings had been scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta, but Georgia law permits criminal defendants to waive their in-person appearance and formally enter a not guilty plea through court paperwork.
Mark Meadows faces two state charges: violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering RICO law and soliciting a public official to violate their oath. These charges are connected to the well-known January 2021 phone call where then-President Donald Trump and Meadows pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to change the election results in Trump’s favor. Meadows is attempting to move his case from state court to federal court, where he may seek immunity from litigation under federal worker protections.
Misty Hampton, charged with seven counts, is accused of participating in a conspiracy to unlawfully access voter data and ballot counting equipment at the Coffee County election office. She also faces the central racketeering charge in Willis’ case.
Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who is similarly seeking to move his case to federal court, has also pleaded not guilty. He was charged with two counts in the Georgia case and had attempted to use his federal powers to overturn the 2020 election results. He drafted a letter promoting false claims of voting irregularities and urged Georgia lawmakers to discard Biden’s legitimate electors. However, Trump ultimately did not appoint Clark as acting attorney general.
Other notable defendants in the case, such as pro-Trump attorney John Eastman, Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still, former Coffee County GOP Chair Cathy Latham, and former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer, have also entered not guilty pleas and waived formal arraignments.
John Eastman was indicted on nine counts, including racketeering, for devising and promoting a plan for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn Joe Biden’s victory during the Electoral College certification on January 6, 2021. He also urged Georgia state lawmakers to appoint fake GOP electors to replace the legitimate Democratic electors.
Shawn Still, one of the 16 Republicans who acted as “fake electors” in Georgia, was charged with seven state crimes for signing paperwork falsely claiming Trump’s victory in Georgia as part of the Trump campaign’s effort to subvert the Electoral College process.
Cathy Latham faced 11 counts related to an alleged plot to unlawfully access voter data and ballot counting equipment in Coffee County, along with the racketeering charge central to Willis’ case. She also signed on as an alternative elector for Trump in Georgia.
David Shafer was charged with eight state crimes, primarily related to organizing the Trump campaign’s slate of fake electors in Georgia as part of the effort to undermine the Electoral College. He served as a fake elector and convened the other 15 fake electors in the Georgia State Capitol in December 2020. Shafer has claimed that the fake electors scheme was directed by Trump and the Trump campaign.
