Scott Hall is one of 19 defendants in Fulton County, Georgia The case alleges attempts to rig the 2020 presidential electionHe became the first defendant to reach a plea deal with prosecutors on Friday.
Hall changed his plea from not guilty and instead pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to willfully interfere with the performance of election duties in Fulton County Court. He was sentenced to five years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.
Hall, a 59-year-old bail bondsman, was charged with illegally tampering with election equipment and aiding and abetting the theft of voter data, according to the indictment. He initially faced seven counts, six of which related to those attempts.
The charges he pleaded guilty to as of Friday are separate from the seven he originally faced. He is pleading under the Georgia First Offenders Act, and Hall’s attorneys said the misdemeanors to which he pleaded guilty were not “crimes of moral turpitude.”
Hall was required to give a recorded statement to the district attorney’s office, which he did earlier Friday, and he was required to write a letter of apology to the citizens of the state of Georgia.
Under the plea agreement, he is barred from contacting any witnesses or co-defendants in the case. And he should not talk to the media until all the cases are resolved.
The judge told the court: “This is not a scheduled matter today, but both sides have told me that they want an immediate court hearing.”
The district attorney’s office declined to comment at this time.
It’s unclear what kind of information Hall can provide the government. But as a condition of his plea agreement, Hall must testify at any future hearings.
All other defendants have entered not guilty pleas.
Hall was booked Aug. 22, according to Fulton County inmate records, and was the first of 19 defendants to turn himself in.
This is a growing story.
— Melissa Quinn and Jared Eggleston contributed to this report
Kathryn Watson
