PHOENIX — A prime Republican election official in Arizona filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday towards Kari Lake, who falsely claims she misplaced the 2022 race for governor due to fraud.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer stated he’s confronted “violent vitriol and other dire consequences” due to lies unfold by Lake, together with demise threats and the lack of friendships.
“Rather than accept political defeat, rather than get a new job, she has sought to undermine confidence in our elections and has mobilized millions of her followers against me,” Richer wrote in an op-ed in The Arizona Republic.
Lake is a former Phoenix tv information anchor who rapidly constructed an enthusiastic political following as a loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump and his lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. She went on to narrowly lose her personal race for Arizona governor final yr together with a lawsuit difficult the outcomes.
Despite her losses in court docket, she continues to say that Richer and different Maricopa County officers interfered within the election to stop her from successful.
A spokesperson for Lake didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. She is brazenly contemplating a run for U.S. Senate and is a number one contender to be Trump’s working mate in his 2024 presidential marketing campaign.
The go well with, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, names Lake, her marketing campaign and her political fundraising group as defendants. In addition to unspecified financial damages, Richer is searching for a court docket order declaring Lake’s statements false and requiring her to delete them from social media.
U.S. Supreme Court precedent units a excessive bar for defamation circumstances introduced by public officers like Richer. But Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit towards Fox News Channel over false claims about its vote-counting tools resulted in damaging disclosures of inside Fox messages and a $787.5 billion settlement.
Richer’s attorneys wrote of their criticism that Lake has the suitable to criticize Richer however to not unfold lies that convey him hurt.
The go well with takes situation with two claims specifically – that Richer deliberately had 19-inch poll photos printed on 20-inch paper, inflicting counting issues, and that he injected 300,000 bogus ballots. It particulars almost three dozen occasions she made the claims publicly on social media or at rallies and information conferences.
The go well with says Richer has confronted demise threats, together with one which was prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, and has spent hundreds of {dollars} on residence safety. He stated he and his spouse have altered their routines and legislation enforcement has stepped up patrols round their residence and workplaces.
“She has gone far outside of the bounds of protected free speech as guaranteed under the First Amendment and the Arizona Constitution,” Richer wrote in The Republic.
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