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Donald Trump’s indictment brings together novel cast of characters
Donald Trump and 18 allies were indicted in Georgia on Monday over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
The 98-page indictment, which includes accusations of pressuring election workers and attempting to steal data from a voting machine company, uses the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act—a law commonly referred to as RICO and which is normally associated with gangsters—to accuse the defendants of engaging in a “criminal racketeering enterprise.”
The case also involves an unusual cast of characters, including a bail bondsman, Kanye West’s former publicist and a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.
MMA veteran and ex-Kanye publicist part of the conspiracy
Harrison William Prescott Floyd and Trevian C. Kutti are among the lesser-known defendants accused of attempting to intimidate Fulton County elections worker Ruby Freeman to falsely admit to committing election fraud. Floyd is a former mixed martial arts fighter while Kutti is a former publicist for West and R. Kelly.
Freeman, who testified before the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, earlier this year, was among the election workers Trump and his campaign had targeted by baselessly claiming she was counting fake mail-in ballots in Fulton County.
According to the indictment, Floyd was solicited by fellow defendant Stephen Cliffgard Lee, a former police officer-turned-Lutheran chaplain, to speak with Freeman. Floyd then enlisted Kutti to travel to Atlanta to meet with Freeman. The publicist traveled to Freeman’s Georgia home and spoke with the election worker at a local police precinct as officers supervised in January 2021, according to public records from the Cobb County Police Department.
“Ms. Kutti stated that Ms. Freeman was in danger and had 48 hours to speak with her so that she could get ahead of the issue,” according to the Cobb County police report from January 2021. Kutti said the danger Freeman faced was related to the election, the police report stated.
According to body camera footage obtained by CNN through a public records request, Kutti told Freeman that she “cannot say what specifically will take place” if she refused to cooperate but “that it will disrupt your freedom.”
Testifying at a hearing of the House Jan. 6 committee in June 2022, Freeman described the difficult situation she was placed in after Rudy Giuliani publicly accused her of election fraud. Freeman was even forced to go into hiding.
“There is nowhere I feel safe,” Ms. Freeman testified.
‘Monster’ Floyd went out of MMA on a loss
Floyd and Kutti have both been charged with three felony counts, including conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings, as well as influencing witnesses.
Floyd, who competed in MMA as Willie “Monster” Floyd, holds a 3-4 professional record and has not fought since a 2015 submission loss in Baltimore, Maryland.
Floyd was director of Black Voices for Trump
The former fighter also served as the director of Black Voices for Trump, a group that received Trump’s seal of approval and includes the likes of Martin Luther King Jr’s niece, a pastor who compared abortion to slavery, and a misogynistic motivational speaker on its advisory board.
Floyd isn’t the first MMA fighter to pledge his allegiance to Trump, who is now facing a total of 91 criminal counts following his most recent indictment. Plenty of MMA fighters have campaigned for Trump over the years, while the sport’s leading organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, continues to maintain a close relationship with the former president.
During his most recent appearance at UFC 290 in July, Trump was greeted with raucous applause from the crowd and even hi-fived some supporters as he entered the arena flanked by secret service agents. From his vantage point cageside, Trump engaged in an unexpected tête-à-tête with a cornerman coaching a fighter, who said: “Mr. Trump, are you winning again? Are you winning again? Yes! Please! We need it!”
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