Two pro-Trump lawyers urged Georgia Republicans to skip the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs arguing Trump supporters shouldn’t take part in another “rigged” election.
Attorneys Lin Wood and Sidney Powell made the statement Wednesday during a “Stop The Steal” event in Georgia, telling the crowd not to vote for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. According to USA Today, the event was billed as just a press conference but quickly resembled a raucous Trump rally, filled with unverified claims of voter fraud.
“Where is Kelly Loeffler here? Where is David Perdue?” Wood said to the crowd.
“He ought to be standing right here. Do not be fooled twice, this is Georgia. We ain’t dumb. We’re not going to vote on Jan. 5 on another machine made by China. You’re not going to fool Georgians again. If Kelly Loeffler wants your vote, if David Perdue wants your vote, they’ve got to earn it.”Biden won the state by more than 12,000 votes, but since he was named the projected winner of the election Republicans including the outgoing president, Loeffler, Perdue and others have attacked the state’s election commission and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who Loeffler and Perdue urged to resign after Biden won the state.
Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who works with Raffensperger said in a press conference Tuesday that he has had police protection outside his home for several days and Raffensperger’s wife has received “sexualized threats” to her cell phone.
Sterling also said a contractor with Dominion Voting Systems has been receiving death threats and was targeted with a noose. Sterling attacked Trump and like-minded Republicans that believe the election was stolen in a press conference Tuesday.
“What you don’t have the ability to do — and you need to step up and say this — is stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone is going to get hurt. Someone is going to get shot. Someone is going to get killed, and it’s not right,” Gabriel said.
Wood said during the event that Loeffler and Perdue must “demand publicly, repeatedly and consistently” for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to call a special legislative session to address the election.
Kemp, who faced claims of suppressing voters in Georgia during the 2018 election, has rejected repeated calls for him by Trump and his supporters to overturn the state’s election results.
“Georgia law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections. The secretary of state, who is an elected constitutional officer, has oversight over elections that cannot be overridden by executive order,” Cody Hall, the communications director for Kemp, said Monday according to CNN. “As the governor has said repeatedly, he will continue to follow the law and encourage the secretary of state to take reasonable steps — including a sample audit of signatures — to restore trust and address serious issues that have been raised.”