Harrison Floyd

Harrison William Prescott Floyd III[1] is a leader of the political group Black Voices for Trump.[2] He was one of the 18 defendants indicted in 2023 in Fulton County, Georgia. The charges arose from the campaign by Donald Trump and allies to subvert Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election.[2]

Early life and military service

Floyd was previously a U.S. Marine.[1] Floyd said in a 2019 campaign press release that he had combat deployments to Saqlawiyah and Ramadi, Iraq.[3] In online profiles, interviews, and press releases, Floyd said that his assignments and certifications included machine gunner, combat marksmanship trainer, and martial arts instructor,[4] and said that he earned a combined bachelor's and master's degree from George Washington University after leaving activity duty.[3]

Political career

In 2019, Floyd announced his candidacy for the Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican, but dropped out of the race just over a month later.[2][1] In a campaign ad, Floyd showed images of left-wing figures Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez before firing a gun, saying, "I'll fight socialists in Congress the same way I fought terrorists in the desert."[1]

Floyd also led the organization Black Voices for Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign.[2]

Pending criminal cases

Maryland assault case

In May 2023, Floyd was charged in federal court in Maryland with second-degree assault against a federal officer.[5][2][1] In an affidavit, an FBI agent stated that Floyd had aggressively confronted him and "body-slammed" him in February 2023, at Floyd's apartment in Rockville, Maryland, as agents tried to serve Floyd with a federal grand jury subpoena related to the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into efforts to overturn the Presidential results of the 2020 election.[5][2][1] Floyd was subsequently arrested by local police; a federal magistrate judge released him pending trial on the condition that he surrender his passport and not possess weapons.[1]

Georgia election racketeering prosecution
Main article: Georgia election racketeering prosecution

In August 2023, Floyd, along with former President Donald Trump and 16 others, was charged with violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Floyd was also charged with influencing a witness and conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements.[2] Floyd is one of two black defendants charged in the Georgia case; the other is Trevian Kutti.[1][6] Floyd and two other Trump allies—Kutti, a Chicago-based publicist, and Stephen Cliffgard Lee, a former police officer—are accused of harassing a Georgia election worker into falsely confessing to supposed election crimes.[1][7] Trump named the election worker 18 times in a phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021, in which Trump falsely called the woman a "professional vote scammer and hustler" and unsuccessfully pressured Raffensperger to try to overturn his election loss in Georgia.[1] At Lee's request, Floyd set up a January 4, 2023 meeting between Kutti (accompanied by Garrison Douglas, a Georgia leader in the Black Voices for Trump group) and the election worker, who said that Kutti and Douglas pressured her to falsely admit fraud.[8]

Among the 18 defendants, Floyd was the only one to surrender without previously making arrangements for release on bond.[6][9] Thus, after surrendering on August 24, he was held for six days at the Fulton County Jail; on August 29, a judge set a bond amount ($100,000) along with conditions of pretrial release, and he was released the next day.[9][10] He waived arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.[11]

In September 2023, after his release from jail while awaiting trial, Floyd said that he and Joe Oltmann were directing $72,000 in contributions to his legal defense fund to help post bail for inmates in Georgia. He said the effort would prioritize people charged with nonviolent crimes.[12]

Personal life

Floyd has a daughter.[1] A press release issued by Floyd's 2019 campaign said that he lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia.[3]

References
  1. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Devlin Barrett and Patrick Marley (August 23, 2023). "Defendant in Trump Georgia case was earlier charged with attacking FBI agent". Washington Post.
  2. "Who Is Harrison Floyd: Trump Co-Defendant And Black Voices For Trump Leader Still In Fulton County Jail". Forbes. Aug 26, 2023.
  3. "Harrison Floyd Announces Candidacy For 7th Congressional District of Georgia" (Press release). May 7, 2019 – via Metro Atlanta CEO.
  4. "What diversity means to one Marine". Audacy, Connecting Vets. February 8, 2019.
  5. Russ Bynum, A Trump supporter indicted in Georgia is also charged with assaulting an FBI agent in Maryland, NBC Washington (August 25, 2023).
  6. Harrison Floyd III, one of two Black people indicted with Trump, is the only one still in jail, The Grio (August 25, 2023).
  7. Trump Georgia indictment: Who are Trevian Kutti, Harrison Floyd and Stephen Lee?, Reuters (August 16, 2023).
  8. Linda So and Jason Szep, Trump aide set up meeting where election worker was pressured, Reuters (December 21, 2021).
  9. Kate Brumback, The only defendant in the Georgia election indictment to spend time in jail is released on bond, Associated Press (August 30, 2023).
  10. Peter Charalambous, Harrison Floyd, only defendant held in Georgia election case, released from Fulton County Jail, ABC News (August 31, 2023).
  11. List of those who have entered pleas in Georgia election interference case, FOX 5 Atlanta (September 5, 2023).
  12. "Trump Georgia indictment defendant says he's paying bond for some Fulton County inmates". Atlanta News First. September 12, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.