Two Georgia election workers sue far-right website over false fraud
allegations
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[December 03, 2021]
By Peter Eisler
(Reuters) - Two Georgia election workers
targeted by former U.S. President Donald Trump in a vote-rigging
conspiracy theory have sued a far-right website that trumpeted the false
story, alleging it incited months of death threats and harassment
against them.
The defamation suit against The Gateway Pundit was filed Thursday by
Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a voter registration officer in the Fulton County
elections office, and her mother, Ruby Freeman, who was a temp worker
for the 2020 election. The women were featured in a Reuters report
published Wednesday on their ordeal.
The lawsuit names the Pundit, its founder and editor Jim Hoft, and his
brother, writer Joe Hoft. It alleges they repeatedly published
demonstrably false claims that portrayed the women as “traitors” who
conspired to “steal the presidential election in Georgia.”
A lawyer for Jim Hoft and The Gateway Pundit did not immediately respond
to a comment request Thursday morning. Joe Hoft did not respond to a
comment request.
The lawsuit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, alleges that the Pundit’s
“lies” about Freeman and Moss “devastated” their reputations and
“instigated a deluge of intimidation, harassment, and threats that has
forced them to change their phone numbers, delete their online accounts,
and fear for their physical safety.” the suit says. Freeman went into
hiding.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, revolves around false
allegations first raised by a volunteer Trump campaign attorney at a
Dec. 3 hearing of Georgia state legislators. Freeman and Moss worked in
heavily Democratic Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, where a strong
showing by Democrat Joe Biden helped give him a narrow Georgia victory.
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Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman processes ballots in
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Brandon
Bell/File Photo
Trump, a Republican, and his surrogates falsely
alleged that Freeman and Moss pulled “suitcases” full of fake
ballots for Biden and processed them late at night on Election Day,
Nov. 3, after most poll workers and election observers left.
State officials including Republican Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger quickly and forcefully debunked the allegations,
explaining that the “suitcases” were standard ballot containers and
the votes were properly counted under the watch of an independent
monitor and a state investigator.
The Gateway Pundit covered the false allegations in multiple
stories, including one that identified Freeman by name with the
headline: “What’s Up, Ruby? Crooked Operative Filmed Pulling Out
Suitcases of Ballots in Georgia IS IDENTIFIED.” The Pundit
identified Moss in another story.
The Pundit stories continued through the summer, even as multiple
audits and reviews confirmed the accuracy of Fulton County’s vote
results.
“I couldn't have imagined the lies that The Gateway Pundit would
tell about me, pushing people to harass me and my family and to
threaten us with violence,” Freeman said in a statement issued by
her lawyers.
(Reporting by Peter Eisler; editing by Brian Thevenot)
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