RINO election official in Arizona sues Kari Lake for "defamation" after being called out for FRAUD
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a registered Republican, has filed a defamation lawsuit
against Kari Lake and her campaign due to their allegations regarding the 2022 gubernatorial election in Arizona.
Following Lake's supposed defeat to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in November 2022, she immediately went on the offensive, claiming that Richer and other officials in Maricopa County, Arizona's most populous county,
interfered in the election in some way to prevent her from winning.
During an interview with Steve Bannon on
Real America's Voice, Lake pointed out that, had she officially won her election, she would have immediately reformed Arizona's election systems so that "every honest legal vote counts."
"But they were more concerned about their racket at the border, the smuggling of drugs, the trafficking of women, the sex trafficking of children. They didn't want that to end, and this mama bear was ready to end it," said Lake. "And that's why they had to
rig the election and steal it, and right now, because I'm pointing out the corruption in our elections, an election official in Arizona is suing me personally, suing our campaign, suing all of us for pointing out their corruption." (Related:
Kari Lake's legal challenge to 2022 election in Arizona fails with judge tossing final case: The steal is complete.)
"And it's just disgusting. They're doing what they did to Trump," she continued. "They're doing it to me, they're doing it to you … anybody who stands out and says 'No, we have a right to have our country back and we're not going to stop fighting.'"
Richer going after Lake for supposed "lies" about the 2022 election
Filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, the lawsuit named Lake, her campaign group Lake For Arizona
and her fundraising organization Save Arizona Fund, Inc. as the defendants.
According to Richer's filings, he is going after Lake and her campaign for two main reasons.
Firstly, Richer alleged that Lake repeatedly spread lies about election fraud, including one claim that suggested he had intentionally printed 19-inch images on 20-inch ballots to sabotage the electronic tabulators on election day. Secondly, Richer alleged that Lake lied about how he inserted at least 300,000 illegal early-vote ballots into the system to change the outcome of the election.
The lawsuit alleged that Lake spread these so-called lies at rallies, speeches, podcasts, social media and other media appearances. Lawyers included Lake For Arizona and the Save Arizona Fund because they alleged that Lake used these "untrue statements" to help raise money for both her campaign and the fundraising organization.
Lawyers further claimed that Lake's allegations against Richer have made him and his family targets for so-called death threats and in-person "confrontations," forcing Richer and his wife to spend thousands of dollars
to increase their home security, along with increased patrols by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the Phoenix Police Department.
Richer's lawyers noted that while Lake has the First Amendment right to criticize Richer, she does not have the right to spread lies that bring him harm.
Richer is asking for an undisclosed amount of money in the form of normal, compensatory and punitive damages, plus the cost of his legal fees. In addition, Richer is also seeking a court order that declares all of Lake's allegations regarding ballot size and illegal ballot injection to be declared legally false and requires Lake to delete them from all of her websites and social media accounts.
"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," wrote Richer in an opinion piece in
The Arizona Republic. "She has gone far outside of the bounds of protected free speech as guaranteed under the First Amendment and the Arizona Constitution."
"We all have the right to express ourselves, our thoughts and our opinions publicly. That's why this case is not about the mis- and disinformation – and even hatred – that Lake, her campaign and her PAC have spewed about me," Richer continued. "Slinging mud is fair game, but Arizona law and the First Amendment draw a line at defamation. False statements that damage others distort the marketplace of ideas and harm others' ability to exercise their own free speech rights."
Learn more about the state of elections in America at
VoteFraud.news.
Watch Steve Bannon on
Real America's Voice interview Kari Lake
regarding the lawsuit against her and its connection to illegal immigration in Arizona.
This video is from the
Galactic Storm channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Right Now with Ann Vandersteel: Jovan Hutton Pulitzer discusses the Kari Lake election saga – Brighteon.TV.
Kari Lake vows to KEEP FIGHTING after Arizona judge dismissed her stolen election case.
Arizona Republicans ban the state from using electronic voting machines in future federal elections.
Connecting the Dots: Forensic computer expert exposes methods used in election fraud – Brighteon.TV.
Jim Price: Americans must FIX election system to get the president they really want – Brighteon.TV.
Sources include:
Brighteon.com
APNews.com
AZFamily.com
AZCentral.com