ATLANTA — Some Republican leaders say the indictments in Fulton County are unjust and set a dangerous precedent.
Georgia's GOP chair focused on charges related to the indictment of the three Republicans who created an alternative slate of "fake" presidential electors shortly after the 2020 election.
"We have a right of free speech and free association in this country. And the idea we’re going to criminalize, it is incredibly disturbing. People need to look beyond the personalities involved in this," said former state Sen. Josh McKoon, who was elected chairman of the Georgia GOP this summer.
The electors were empaneled by GOP leaders to challenge the Democratic slate bound to vote for Joe Biden, who won Georgia in 2020. However, McKoon said in December 2020, that still wasn't clear.
"This was the allegation: Thousands of people were allowed to vote that shouldn’t have been. And so they (Republicans) were entitled to have that heard in court. And the court hearing had not been scheduled by Dec. 14," McKoon said.
He added that meeting took place in order to have legal standing in court "to make sure the case wasn’t dismissed as moot... contingent on the success of the election contest. That’s all that happened here. There was nothing criminal about it."
Prosecutors contend the meeting of alternative electors advanced a false and lawless narrative that Donald Trump won the election despite losing the popular and electoral votes in 2020.
11Alive asked McKoon about witnesses to the meeting who were told falsely that the meeting of alternative electors was an "education" meeting.
"I think there were certain people who haven’t been indicted in this case who may have made that statement. (Former state GOP) Chairman (David) Shafer didn’t make that statement. Shawn Still didn’t make that statement. Cathy Latham didn’t make that statement," McKoon said.
Still is a Republican state senator from Norcross. Latham had been the GOP chair in Coffee County. Shafer, a former state senator, was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor before he became chair of the Georgia GOP.
When asked if Democrats had done what Republicans did to challenge the 2020 election, McKoon said the GOP wouldn't have viewed it as criminal.
"Maybe there would have been some grumbling if it had been the other way around -- like, 'I can’t believe they’re doing this.' But would someone have literally made a criminal case out of it? Absolutely not," he said.
McKoon contends Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, is prosecuting Republicans to advance her political career.
"I wish she would spend her time putting dangerous criminals behind bars than chasing her political dreams," McKoon said.
Willis said Monday that the indictments follow the law irrespective of politics.
McKoon said it could be Democrats making the next election challenge and he said this indictment will have a chilling effect on anybody challenging elections.