Harrison Floyd was denied bond on Friday. A judge said he was a potential flight risk.
Harrison Floyd was denied bond on Friday. A judge said he was a potential flight risk.
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Floyd, who's charged with racketeering, conspiracy and influencing a witness, turned himself in Thursday afternoon, ahead of Trump's 20-minute appearance at the jail that evening. Prosecutors allege that Floyd, the former leader of Black Voices for Trump and the only Black man among the defendants, was part of a scheme to pressure election worker Ruby Freeman into making false statements. Freeman had been falsely accused by Trump and his allies of election fraud.
He added that'd he'd requested a public defender and was denied one. The judge told him he did not qualify for one.
This seems wrong. Why wouldn't he be "qualified"? It's there an income limit? Seems that anyone should be allowed the option to not go into debt defending themselves.
Most states only provide a public defender for indigent clients who make less than a certain amount. If you are above that threshold, you will have to come up with the money for a private attorney. Funny how Trump had these clowns do his bidding then bailed on them when they needed help. I guess he has time to reconsider his actions while he sits in jail.
It’s also important to note that the judge mentioned him assaulting two FBI agents as part of the denial of bail. Even with a lawyer, he may have been denied bond.
If I were one of these guys, I wouldn't accept a lawyer Trump paid for. One of the defendants in the docs case just flipped because the lawyer Trump paid for told him to lie on the stand
One qualifies for a public defender only if they cannot afford their own attorney. Those with the means to afford their own attorney are usually, like in this case, denied a public defender.
He’s about to find out what the justice system means for black guys. The only defendant denied bail? Ha yeah, dudes fucked.
The judge just feels like he’s lying. They should be having an evidentiary hearing to determine if he does have the means or not. You usually have to fill out a financial form for the court.
99.999% of the time, it would be about him being black. But this is that rare exception. The guy has money and can afford a lawyer, he just doesn't want to. And he's being denied bail only until he meets with the judge for his other case. He's the only one of the people indicted who tried to fight FBI agents. The rest are still dumbasses, but not that particular flavor of dumbass.
If you think they won’t treat him differently just because he has money, then you’re mistaken. I was wrong in why he was denied bail, I admit that. But having money means nothing to the justice system when you’re black.
Situations like this really demonstrate the concept of intersectionality. The justice system will absolutely treat him differently because he has money. He will likely be treated poorer than a white person with money but he'll unquestionably be better off than than a black man with no money in the same situation. If nothing else when he inevitably goes to prison he'll have money to put on his "books" to buy things from the commissary. To say having money means nothing ignores decades (lol centuries) of evidence. There's no war but the class war.
I'm not saying he won't be treated differently because he's black. All I'm saying is that I'm this particular instance, being denied bail is 100% predictable when you get into fights with FBI agents, and being denied a public defender is 100% predictable when you have plenty of money to afford a lawyer.
What happens from here? I don't know. But what's happened so far is exactly what you'd expect to happen with anyone in his position.