Your typical conservative co-defendant doesn’t show up to court wearing an unstructured Kelly green blazer and navy blue smoking slippers. They don’t calmly read a book about stoicism as the District Attorney argues to have their bond revoked. They certainly don’t interrupt the county’s lead prosecutor, while they are in the middle of trying to revoke their bond, to correct them about appropriate titles. But that’s exactly what Harrison Floyd did.
The Shame of Fulton County
Why would a black man facing multiple felony counts, in a state with a historically racist justice system, taunt prosecutors trying to put him away in open court? Harrison Floyd is kryptonite to DA Fani Willis’ Georgia R.I.C.O. case, and he knows it. He’s not just trying to beat the Fulton County case; he’s using it to expose corruption in Georgia. So far, he hasn’t just knocked Willis off course; he’s winning.
When DA Willis announced the Georgia R.I.C.O. indictment in August of 2023, her star power and case trajectory looked bright. After quickly racking up four guilty plea deals, everything appeared to be falling into place. But denying Floyd bond and making him the only co-defendant to be detained in Fulton County jail backfired. Harrison walked away with over a quarter million dollars in a defense fund, and he countered with a media blitz bashing Fulton County leadership. He raised money for inmates in the infamous jail and repeatedly exposed holes in the DA’s case on social media. By mid-November, Willis was forced into the courtroom to wrestle the momentum away by revoking his bond.
One could easily tell DA Willis was feeling extremely insecure from observing her actions, mannerisms, and behaviors. She failed to mask it with arrogance and bravado, as she shouted and demanded Judge McAfee remand Floyd into custody for intimidating witnesses. Her team asked her to “tone it down,” but instead she said Floyd should “shut his mouth.” Again, it backfired. The judge found no evidence of witness intimidation but did find a technical communication violation. He modified the bond to account for social media, and Harrison walked away a free man. The media attention raised more money for his defense fund. Floyd doesn’t just win battles; he makes her pay for the attempt.
Democrats’ Worst Nightmare
Harrison Floyd is a black conservative, but not in a Ben Carson or Clarence Thomas way. When he left Fulton County Jail, Harrison donned the typical Brooks Brothers Republican blue blazer and khakis. But if you look down, you’ll notice iconic streetwear and a pair of reimagined Air Jordan 3s. Harrison is sophisticated enough for a policy conversation in the West Wing but can chop it up on the corner in the SWATS. He’s cool. This is why his unapologetic NWA-style stance towards the District Attorney resonates with the heavily black demographic of Fulton County.
Floyd’s presence instantly makes her typical deflection tactics ineffective. So far, her instinctual response to any criticism is to pull the race card because she knows it will largely cause her accusers to back away. But she can’t do that with him. On top of that, Harrison knows her race-baiting tactics and how to counter them. Harrison Floyd is more physically, mentally, and politically sophisticated than DA Willis.
The brutally honest, combat-hardened Marine has made it clear Willis can’t intimidate or kowtow him into submission. He turned down a plea deal and is using the case to force the county into turning over sealed election evidence. After the relationship revelation about Nathan Wade, DA Willis is most likely insecure about someone discovering something else, or many somethings, where she is involved in cheating, lying, and/or misrepresenting herself.
Harrison is what she could’ve been if her morals and dignity weren’t for sale to the highest bidder. She hates Harrison for being what she isn’t, opposing her and exposing the very means by which she ended up as Fulton DA: fraudulent elections.
That’s the crux of her problem with Harrison. She’s too deep into corrupt Fulton County politics to ever be what he is. She’s too deep into the case to dismiss the charges and get rid of him. And to make matters worse, her case forced Fulton County to admit they did not verify signatures during the 2020 election.
A Corrupt District Attorney’s Kryptonite
From her tone, body language, and other telltale signs during her recent testimony on her relationship with Wade, it is beyond clear that Willis regularly carries herself with an air of smug, unearned self-confidence, an arrogance borne out of a delusional belief that she is above criticism and scrutiny. She could not comprehend the idea that one day she might be held accountable for her actions, and her self-righteousness was poorly contained throughout the whole ordeal. She clearly cannot cope with the idea of accountability. Which is why the District Attorney ran to her father for testimony and used her identity as a black woman as a shield.
But if there is one thing that gets under her skin even more, it’s the kind of scrutiny that even the race card cannot protect her from. For all her claims of racism and discrimination against her, she now finds herself facing the music over her horrendous persecution of a black man, one she exposed to far worse treatment than anything she herself has undergone. Harrison Floyd’s efforts to expose her corruption are the ultimate kryptonite that she cannot withstand.