Former cop-turned-Lutheran pastor Stephen Cliffgard Lee indicted alongside Donald Trump was the last of the former president’s 18 co-accused to turn himself in to Fulton County authorities Friday — donning his clerical get-up for the mugshot.
Stephen Cliffgard Lee looked dour in the booking photo that had his tab-collar shirt in full view. Lee’s attorney, David Shestokas, previously told the Chicago Sun-Times that the 70-year-old would surrender on Friday morning, just before a noon deadline set by Fulton County DA Fani Willis. Bond for Lee was set at $75,000, which Shestokas slammed as “excessive.”
Stephen Cliffgard Lee, the “nervous” pastor was able to post bail on Friday thanks largely to a hefty donation from the infamous MAGA podcaster “Silk” from “Diamond and Silk,” his attorney told The Daily Beast. Lee, who’s accused of intimidating an election worker, was the last of 19 co-defendants to surrender to authorities.
It has been noted that his attorney, David Shestokas, suggested Lee’s delay was money-related, with the Chicago pastor short by thousands on his $75,000 bond. Shestokas, who spoke at length about Lee’s case to The Daily Beast last week, said Silk spoke about Lee’s situation on her Thursday night podcast, telling her listeners that Lee “needs to be in church on Sunday.”
Shestokas said Silk, whose real name is Herneitha Hardaway, cut a check for $3,500 to start, and by the time Lee turned himself in on Friday—an hour before the court-mandated deadline—he had enough money to bail out. Shestokas called it “a miracle.”
