A judge ruled this week that he was a top official in the Republican Party of Georgia, which nominated former President Donald Trump allegations of widespread voter fraud He repeatedly voted illegally, affecting the results of the 2020 presidential elections.
Brian Pritchard, first vice chairman of the Georgia Republican Party and conservative talk show host, has been fined $5,000 for registering to vote while serving time on charges of illegal voting and a felony. Prichar was also ordered to refrain from further violations, face public censure for his conduct and pay the costs of the State Election Board’s investigation.
In a 25-page ruling Wednesday, Administrative Law Judge Lisa Boggs affirmed that the board illegally voted nine times to violate Pritchard’s extended probation due to several felony convictions dating back nearly 30 years.
Pritchard was originally sentenced to three years of probation in 1996 on a Pennsylvania forgery charge.
Prichard’s probation was revoked three times, including in 1999 when he moved to Georgia and again in 2002 and 2004. In 2004, a judge imposed a new seven-year probation sentence, which made Prichard ineligible to vote in the state until 2011.
In 2008, Pritchard filled out a voter registration form with the Gilmer County Board of Elections and signed a sworn affidavit certifying that he “has not been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude.” Pritchard played the role of the series “Georgia”. four that year, including primaries and general elections and runoffs, and another five in 2010 in special elections, primaries, and the general election.
Pritchard testified that “when he signed the application, he was not aware of anything that would prevent him from registering to vote,” and that he did not believe the three years of probation should remain part of the sentence, according to court documents.
Boggs said in Wednesday’s ruling that “after carefully considering the totality of the evidence, the Court does not find the Defendant’s explanations credible or convincing. At the very least, even if the Court were to accept that he had no knowledge of the severe penalties, the record in this Court shows that he should have known.”
Pritchard and an attorney for the Georgia Republican Party did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment Thursday night.
A questionnaire Pritchard said he filled in last year when he ran for vice chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia he said he was trying to “use the influence of the local conservative movement to improve the integrity of elections.”
Before becoming the state party’s first vice chairman, Pritchard was defeated in a special election for a state House seat by Speaker David Ralston last year.
While running for the seat, he blasted reports about his voting record 2022 post said on his website that his detractors “want to manipulate the election and try to make me appear as the number one enemy of the people”.
Pritchard also cast doubt on whether President Joe Biden would legitimately win the 2020 presidential election. episode On his talk show in 2022, he points to the button on his microphone and says, “The button has been stolen.” They did this to us because I can’t believe that 81 million people voted for this man.”