Pro-Trump pastor arrested for confronting Georgia election workers 'surprised' he was indicted: report

17 August 2023

One of the lesser-known individuals indicted along with former President Donald Trump by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Wllis under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act on Monday, August 14th is Pastor Stephen Lee, a Lutheran Chicago, Illinois chaplain who became ensnared in Trump's alleged scheme to steal Georgia's sixteen Electoral College votes after Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. On Thursday, Lee's attorney David Shestokas spoke with The Daily Beast's Justin Rohrich about his client's legal predicament.

Lee, Rohrich recalls, "is accused of trying to pressure a temporary election worker, Ruby Freeman, to confess to a slew of bogus assertions by Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and other MAGA-world luminaries, that Freeman and her daughter, who are Black, surreptitiously introduced suitcases stuffed with thousands of fake ballots into the counting process to help Joe Biden. Trump referenced Freeman over and over during his infamous Jan. 2, 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, in which he exhorted Raffensperger to 'find' enough local votes to undo Biden’s win. Freeman was 'a professional vote scammer and hustler,' Trump lied, calling the 60-something Freeman a 'known political operative.'"

Lee, Rohrich notes, is "facing additional counts on top of the RICO charge, including conspiracy to solicit false statements and writings, criminal attempt to influence witnesses, and influencing witnesses."

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Prior to his involvement with Trump's failed putsch, New York Magazine Intelligencer's Matt Stieb wrote on Wednesday, Lee "had dedicated much of his life to helping people in crisis, traveling the country to minister to Americans who lived through hurricanes, mass shootings, and terrorist attacks. But by showing up at Freeman's house that morning, he stumbled into a wide-ranging conspiracy that threatens the former president of the United States with an unpardonable racketeering charge. Deep into the 98-page indictment of Trump in Georgia, Lee was named as one of 18 co-conspirators, charged with attempting to influence witnesses and conspiring to solicit false statements and writings. Prosecutors described his action as 'an act of racketeering activity … in furtherance of the conspiracy' to overturn the election. (A representative for Lee did not respond for requests for comment and he has yet to answer the charges in court)."

Shestokas told Rohrich in an exclusive interview that Lee is "nervous. Anybody charged with a crime that serious—a five-year mandatory minimum, and a possible 20-year maximum—is not going to sleep easy at night, regardless of whatever comfort and counseling I'm able to offer. But even under those circumstances, I certainly have no guarantees for him."

Yet "despite Lee having been the subject of intense media focus related to Trump's coup attempt, and knowing that Georgia authorities had him under a microscope," Rohrich continues, the charges "still took" Lee and Shestokas "by surprise."

Shestokas revealed to Rohrich that "neither the reverend nor I were ever contacted by anyone from Fulton County" and that "we were quite surprised by the reverend's indictment since Fulton County had not even been able to make a case in an Illinois court that Rev. Lee was a material witness. With that in mind, we were quite astounded to learn of his indictment as a defendant."

Nonetheless, Shestokas confirmed to Rohrich that Lee "was indeed at Freeman's house" because he presumed that his "unusual background… might be of some service to this woman that was under siege."

Stestokas conceded, however, that Lee's mindset "sounds really wild unless you see the backstory."

Stestokas insisted that "the stuff that the rest of the world [sees] on the surface, if all they see is he knocked on the door, they think that he's involved in election interference. OK. But if you look at his history, it's one of service, one of unification, if you want. That's what's in his mind."

Shestokas added that "if you consider Reverend Lee's history of traveling to unusual settings, and offering this combination of law enforcement and pastoral experience to assist people that are under stress, it's not out of character," insisting that "it may not be something you do, or I do—I wouldn't—but I don't have the same history that he has… You know, so many of the big stories that are headlines around the country in the last 30 years, he's been there. He's kind of the Forrest Gump of crises in America. He's always been there in some way, shape, or form."

View Rorhrich's complete analysis at this link (subscription required). Stieb's article is here.

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