Fani Willis Case Takes a New Turn

One of the co-defendants in the sweeping RICO case against former President Donald Trump and his allies is accusing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of racism.

Harrison Floyd, who led Black Voices for Trump in 2020, announced Monday that he and his lawyers were planning to bring an equal protection claim against Willis, saying that she was going after some of the defendants because of the color of their skin. Floyd is one of two Black co-defendants in the Georgia case.

"While my skin is also Black, DA Willis identifies me as white and views me as a defender of white supremacists due to my political beliefs," Floyd said in a video shared to social media. "Deep down, she wants to make me pay for what she feels is a betrayal to Black culture. Her words and actions consistently demonstrate a hate for white people and need to make this case about race."

Newsweek reached out to Willis via email for comment.

Race has become an increasing source of tension in the case against Trump and his associates. Two weeks ago, Willis made a speech during which she said that "they don't like me to talk about race," but that she would anyway and that, "Truth is, there's some challenges that come with being Black."

The remarks came just weeks after Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case, took issue with Willis' earlier comments about race. In January, the district attorney said her critics were "playing the race card" because they criticized special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who is Black, but not one of the two other special prosecutors, who are white. Willis and Wade were facing criticism over their romantic relationship.

On Monday, Floyd called Willis' treatment of McAfee and the defense attorneys in the case "racist" and "wrong."

"The truth is simple and quite frankly sad. DA Willis is blinded by her upbringing, which was deeply rooted in radical, progressive ideology and racism. She has no problem weaponizing her skin or her office to further its aims," he said.

"We will bring a motion asking the court to exercise its judicial power on equal protection grounds because racism, in any form, is wrong," Floyd continued, adding that he was not filing the motion to further delay the case or target Willis' race or gender.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that while Floyd may want to go after Willis for alleged racism, his claim "doesn't have a chance."

"[It] is difficult to prove and requires the prosecution to be based on a prohibited characteristic like race, religion or national origin," he said. "There is no evidence that Willis prosecuted Floyd because of his race."

Floyd, who is the only Trump co-defendant to have served time at the Fulton County Jail, was indicted on three felony counts—racketeering, conspiracy to solicit false statements and influencing witnesses. He is also facing federal charges for allegedly assaulting an FBI agent in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.

Floyd's latest announcement comes on the heels of another accusation against Willis last week. On Thursday, his attorney had claimed that the district attorney violated Maryland's Wiretap Act by recording a conversation between her and one of Floyd's Maryland-based attorneys without their consent. Maryland is one of 11 states that requires consent from both parties for a private conversation to be recorded.

"As far as we are aware, DA Willis did not have [a] warrant and the call was not made in furtherance of law enforcement because I was already in custody," Floyd said Monday. "She simply broke the law. The truth is DA Willis did not like the public backlash she was receiving, and over the course of multiple calls, she tried to find a way out of the mess she created."

But Rahman said that even if Floyd and his team can prove that Willis unlawfully recorded one of his attorneys, it wouldn't be grounds to dismiss the charges that he faces.