On Friday, the last of Donald Trump’s 18 co-accused to surrender to Fulton County authorities was a former police officer turned Lutheran minister. He wore his professional attire for the photograph.
Stephen Cliffgard Lee wore a tab-collar shirt and appeared despondent in his custody photo.
David Shestokas, Lee’s attorney, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the 70-year-old will turn himself in on Friday morning before the deadline set by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Shestokas deemed Lee’s $75,000 bail to be “excessive.”
“He’s a pastor. These are not folks that do things to get wealthy,” the attorney scoffed.
“There’s no reason to believe he’s a flight risk. I advised them that he is not a wealthy man and wouldn’t be able to make bond.”
Friday afternoon, the Fulton County Jail reported that Lee was released upon booking.
A portion of Lee’s bond proceeds may have been contributed by the Christian organization Illinois Family Institute, which announced a fundraiser for Lee, whom they referred to as “America’s Chaplain,” on Thursday.
On August 14, a grand jury issued an indictment against Lee, who resides in Orland Park, Illinois. Five counts in the indictment allege that he attempted to induce Ruby Freeman, a Georgia election worker, to fraudulently confess to election fraud.
Lee and Chicago publicist Trevian Kutti have both been charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act, conspiring to solicit fraudulent statements and writings, and attempting to influence witnesses. Lee faces the possibility of being accused with two additional counts of criminal endeavor to influence witnesses.
Kutti, who has previously collaborated professionally with Kanye West and R. Kelly, voluntarily surrendered herself on Friday and was subsequently released on a $75,000 surety, according to Fulton County records.
According to the Sun-Times, Lee was captured on police body camera footage in December 2020 after authorities responded to Freeman’s 911 call. Freeman had been publicly accused of illicit ballot tallying by former President Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Freeman immediately contacted emergency services by contacting 911 in response to Lee’s allegedly persistent door rapping.
Lee, who was wearing clerical apparel, informed the law enforcement officers that he was collaborating with certain individuals to assist Ruby and uncover the truth when he was confronted in his vehicle.
According to the prosecution, after Freeman declined to speak with Lee, he enlisted the aid of Kutti and Harrison Floyd, the director of Black Voices for Trump at the time, to arrange a meeting with her.
Lee informed Floyd, based on the Fulton County indictment, that he believed Freeman’s reluctance to converse with him was a result of Lee’s Caucasian ethnicity.
Lee served as a police officer in California during the 1980s, prior to his ordination as a minister in the conservative Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, according to the Peace Officer Ministries website.
According to the Sun-Times, the aforementioned individual currently serves as pastor at the Living Word Lutheran Church in Orland Park, a southwest Chicago suburb.