Jury convicts Colorado man in second 'We Build the Wall' trial

[October 29, 2022]  NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal jury in Manhattan on Friday convicted a Colorado man who was charged along with former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon with defrauding donors to an online campaign to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

People walk near a border wall section allegedly built with money from Trump supporters who donated in the crowdfunding campaign called "We Build the Wall" as seen along the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

Timothy Shea, of Castle Rock, Colorado, was convicted on two conspiracy counts and one count of obstruction of justice after a one-week trial. An earlier trial ended in June in a hung jury.

Shea and Bannon were charged in August 2020 over their alleged roles in the "We Build the Wall" campaign, which prosecutors said raised more than $25 million from hundreds of thousands of donors to help Trump build his signature wall.

Two other defendants, the campaign's leader Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, pleaded guilty and have yet to be sentenced.

"Months ago, this office stated our belief in the powerful and compelling evidence that showed Shea's guilt," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan said in a statement. "Today, a unanimous jury has convicted Shea on all counts."

John Meringolo, a lawyer for Shea, said in an email: "We respect the jury's verdict."

Trump pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his presidency, but Bannon was criminally charged last month by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with state law violations arising from the wall campaign.

Bannon has pleaded not guilty in that case. Presidential pardons do not cover state prosecutions.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

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