The lone defendant in former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case who was held in the bed bug-ridden Fulton County Jail was granted bond Tuesday evening, five days following his arrest.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee approved defendant Harrison Floyd's consent bond order Tuesday afternoon, setting it at $100,000. He is the only one in the 19-defendant case who did not negotiate a bond amount before surrendering last week.
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Floyd surrendered to authorities on Thursday without an attorney, choosing to forego legal help due to the high cost involved, his co-counsel told the Washington Examiner. Prosecutors say the 39-year-old former U.S. Marine and former director of Black Voices for Trump engaged in a scheme to pressure an election worker into making false statements about ballot manipulation and election fraud after the 2020 election.
Christopher I. Kachouroff, one of Floyd's attorneys, said he aims to have Floyd released from jail by Tuesday evening. Just after 6 p.m. local time, Fulton County Jail records show Floyd is still in jail custody.
"This is a serious jail," Kachouroff said, adding that the Justice Department opened a civil investigation into the facility in July. "There have been three or four deaths in the past couple of years. Just one was a stabbing death where they didn't get to him for like two hours. He bled out. A guy died in there from ... bed bugs, of all things. He'd been bitten so many times."
The Justice Department announced on July 13 that it would be investigating the "use of excessive force" and protection from violence, as well as an investigation into the "living conditions" of the dilapidated facility.
Floyd, who is based in Maryland, is also facing a misdemeanor simple assault charge tied to an alleged assault on an FBI agent who was delivering a subpoena to his home, which also involved special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into whether Trump attempted to subvert the 2020 election.
The defendant bonded out on his federal charge, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Emily Richardson said at a Friday hearing that his previous alleged offense should be the reason why he is denied bond in Georgia.
“Based on the open charge against you, there are grounds for bond to be denied at this point," Richardson said during Floyd's first appearance.
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Floyd's bond hearing was scheduled for Aug. 31 at 1:30 p.m. local time by McAfee. An online fundraiser is helping him pay for his newly retained attorney, Kachouroff, and has so far raised more than $270,000.
His arraignment is slated for 11:45 a.m. on Sept. 6 along with the 18 other defendants, including Trump, though if they have attorneys, they are permitted to waive their physical appearance if they inform the court two days in advance.