Georgia poll workers cleared after investigation into Trump claims

Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and daughter, Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss, were finally cleared by authorities on Tuesday, after a years-long investigation into claims of election fraud.

The investigation was officially dismissed by Georgia’s State Election Board, which stated the accusations against Freeman and her daughter were proved to be baseless, NBC News reports.

The fraud claims were “unsubstantiated and found to have no merit,” the election board stated, citing reports from the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and investigators from the Secretary of State’s office.

In the wake of the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump and political ally Rudy Giuliani repeatedly accused Freeman and Moss of committing election fraud. A short and heavily edited clip from State Farm Arena security cameras was shared across the web as supposed evidence of the crime.

Giuliani previously stated that Freeman and Moss could be seen handing each other USB drives “like vials of heroin or cocaine” during the ballot counting.

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It was later explained that Moss had been handed a mint from her mother.

Since the video’s emergence, Freeman has been specifically targeted by Trump. The former president has offered false claims about her on his social media channels as recently as January.

While state officials have consistently maintained that the poll workers are innocent, the women continued to be harassed. At one point, Freeman felt so unsafe that she was forced to flee her own home.

During a 2022 hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, officials used recorded testimony of Freeman and Moss as evidence.

“There is nowhere I feel safe. Nowhere,” Freeman was recorded saying last June. “I have lost my name and I have lost my reputation.”

The women have also filed lawsuits against companies and individuals who they say helped spread the false claims.

One defamation lawsuit has already been settled with One America Network, while several other claims remain ongoing.