In a significant development for the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald J. Trump and his allies, one of the 19 defendants, Scott Hall, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges and accepted a five-year probationary period. As a Georgia bail bondsman, Hall’s guilty plea is a crucial win for Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, who managed to secure his cooperation as a witness against other defendants. While no other defendants have pleaded guilty thus far, two of them, lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, are set to face trial together next month after demanding speedy trials.
Scott Hall’s charges included racketeering and six other felonies, stemming from his involvement in a data breach at the elections office in rural Coffee County, Georgia. It is alleged that Hall and other Trump allies were searching for evidence of ballot fraud following Trump’s loss in the state during the 2020 presidential election. Hall appeared in a Fulton County courtroom, where he pled guilty to five misdemeanor counts of intentional interference with election duties, dressed in a dark suit and open-necked shirt.
The terms of Hall’s plea deal require him to pay a $5,000 fine, surrender his firearms carry license, complete 200 hours of community service, and write an apology letter to the people of Georgia. Furthermore, he is prohibited from participating in any activities related to the administration of elections, and he must testify truthfully in all future proceedings related to the case. When asked if he understood and accepted the terms, Hall confirmed his understanding to Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court.