Kanye West Publicist Pressured Election Worker to Admit to False Voter Fraud Claims – Report
Kanye West's 2020 presidential bid was an unsuccessful one. Now, a publicist representing Ye during his vie for presidency last year has been accused of questionable ethics.
According to a report from Reuters on Friday (Dec. 10), on Jan. 4, 2021, weeks after the 2020 election, Trevian Kutti, one of Kanye's publicists, went to the home of a Georgia election worker and pressured her to confess to allegations of election fraud. Kutti also reportedly threatened that the woman, Ruby Freeman, would be arrested within 48 hours if she didn't come clean.
Freeman, a temporary poll worker in Georgia's Fulton County who was falsely accused by former President Donald Trump of manipulating votes, was approached by Kutti, who didn't specifically disclose who sent her, but said that she came on behalf of a "high-profile individual" to relay the message of Freeman's potential arrest if she didn't comply.
Freeman, who had grown leery of strangers after being subjected to death threats for being falsely accused of voter fraud, refused to give any credence to the claims made against her. However, she knew she was in danger and in need of help. As a result, Freeman asked her neighbor, an unidentified male, to speak with Kutti.
Freeman later agreed to the meeting, but requested the presence of a Cobb County Police officer during a 911 call.
"They’re saying that I need help," she explained to the dispatcher. "That it’s just a matter of time that they are going to come out for me and my family." Freeman was referring to the individuals at the door of her home.
Kutti reiterated that Freeman was in "danger" and had "48 hours" before "unknown subjects" would appear at her home. The officer suggested the women meet at the police station, to which the women agreed. This is presumably where the police bodycam footage of Kutti and Freeman's conversation came from.
"We didn't want to frighten you, but we had to find you in this time frame," Kutti told Freeman in the video. The publicist also said to Freeman that she had "put in placement a way to move you, a way to secure you, from what may be secured over the next 48 hours."
Kutti added, "We have probably have 48 hours in which to move you. We would do it on your schedule. I cannot say specifically what will take place. I just know that it will disrupt your freedom and the freedom of one or more of your family members."
According to the video footage, Kutti told Freeman she was going to put her on the phone with a man whose name is Harrison Ford, not the actor, but a Black progressive crisis manager. Kutti said the man is "very high level" and had "authoritative powers to get you protection that you need."
On Jan. 5, a day after Freeman met with Kutti, she was informed by an FBI agent that she needed to leave her home.
The next day, an angry mob of Trump supporters reportedly surrounded her home, apparently proving Kutti's prediction to be correct. That same day, supporters of the former controversial president attacked the Capitol.
It is unclear if Trevian Kutti still works with Kanye West.
Kanye, who knowingly has close ties to Donald Trump, was able to get on the 2020 presidential ballot in 12 states last year, but Georgia was not among those states. Joe Biden, current President of the United States, won the election bid.
However, before doing so, Kanye was accused of accepting donations and voter fraud. There was also a point when speculation arose that Ye was being used as a political pawn to steal votes from Biden to redirect them to Trump for his reelection.
XXL has reached out to reps for Trevian Kutti and Kanye West for a comment.