One of the co-defendants in the Fulton County case told an audience that he will not ‘cooperate with evil.’
A lesser-known co-defendant in the Fulton County, Georgia, election case that has insnared former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen others has said that he won’t cooperate in the case.
Rev. Stephen Cliffgard Lee, a pastor at Living Word Lutheran Church in Orland Park, was indicted in August along with 18 others, including President Trump, in Georgia. The Illinois-based pastor faces charges of racketeering, influencing a witness, and conspiracy to solicit false statements and writings. He has pleaded not guilty.
Several of the defendants in the case, including former Trump campaign attorney Jena Ellis and attorney Sidney Powell, have entered guilty pleas in deals with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
“I am not going to plead out to a lie,” Mr. Lee told a crowd during a fundraising event at a local church, according to the Chicago Tribune. “I’m not going to cooperate with evil. This is bigger than me.”
Mr. Lee said that if he’s convicted, he faces a minimum of five years in a Georgia prison, the paper reported.
The pastor said his legal fees could cost about $150,000, and he has to spend months in Georgia during his trial, although he’s attempting to sever his case from the others’ cases.
“That’s the cost of saying ‘not guilty,’” his lawyer, David Shestokas, said at the event.
The lawyer said the case against Mr. Lee is a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, including violating his rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion.
“What’s at stake here is not just Pastor Lee,” Mr. Shestokas said. “It’s an attack on all the rights in the First Amendment of our Constitution.”
Prosecutors said Mr. Lee, 71, allegedly worked with others to try to pressure Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman and her daughter after President Trump and his allies said they pulled fraudulent ballots from a suitcase during the vote count in Fulton County. Officials have accused Mr. Lee of knocking on Ms. Freeman’s door, causing her to call 911 three times.
