Kari Lake, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and unsuccessful candidate for governor of Arizona, is being sued by Maricopa County election officials over lies she spread after her November election loss.
Fellow Republican Stephen Richer, the registrar of Arizona’s most populous county, has announced a defamation lawsuit. in the editorial Published by the Republic of Arizona.of suit It named Lake, her campaign, and her political action committee, the Arizona Relief Fund, as defendants. A spokeswoman for Lake did not immediately respond. NBC News request for comment.
A Phoenix area official wrote in an op-ed:
Over the past seven months, a high-profile former candidate in a statewide election from my party has spread lies about our election, and about me in particular.
Rather than accept political defeat and take a new job, she mobilized millions of supporters against me in an attempt to discredit our election.
Even before Election Day last year, Lake tried to plant doubts about thher racial legitimacy It also tried to ban the use of electronic voting machines, but failed. After losing the gubernatorial race to Democrat Katie Hobbs, Lake and his supporters refused to accept reality and instead spread false claims that voters were disenfranchised.These baseless claims have been proven false professional and in court … More than once. Still, Lake continued to make these claims through social media and interviews with right-wing figures.
Lake’s words were ‘unleashed’ violent verbal abuse and other disastrous consequences.” In an op-ed, Richard writes:. Specifically, he said he had to take additional safety measures and lost friends and lifelong relationships because of his lies.
“Lake didn’t send me into hiding. Neither will she ever,” he wrote. “But her defamatory remarks have irrevocably changed my life, closed opportunities and damaged relationships.”
Richer’s lawsuit comes after Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates said he would not seek re-election when his term ends next year.Gates said Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder Because of a violent intimidation and harassment campaign against him and his family.
Lake has tied his personality to former President Donald Trump by essentially parroting his election denialism and trying to use it to jumpstart his political career (this so far had minimal effect). Some suspect she is competing to join Trump’s ticket as her running mate. He reportedly spends a lot of time at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion.
But for now, it looks like she’s just mimicking some of his worst behavior. she lied about the election, trying to profit from controversy. Lake, who has yet to announce a new candidacy, responded to Richer’s defamation lawsuit in very Trumpian fashion, including trying to raise money.
“They want to stop President Trump. They want to stop me. They want to stop you.” she wrote on twitter, further added: to go. To. break out. ”
She then posted a fundraiser link.
