Stephen Lee, a conservative Lutheran pastor from Illinois who was indicted as part of Donald Trump’s racketeering scheme to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election in Georgia, claims to his supporters that he was just ministering to people when, prosecutors allege, he was threatening them to change their statements to support his conspiracy theories.
Per the gift-linked New York Times story, Lee is traveling the country talking to evangelical congregations to get funds for his legal defense against the five charges in the Fulton County case. A former police officer who has helped to counsel officers after traumatic events like mass shootings, Lee (through his attorney) claims that he was doing what he’s trained to do: help those in need.
Prosecutors claim Lee stalked the home of Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman, repeatedly knocking on her door and then surveilling her house from his car. After Freeman called police, an officer spoke to Lee, who is captured on body cam footage saying he was there to provide pastoral care to Freeman but she was afraid to talk to him because he’s a white man.