Stephen Richer v. Kari Lake et al.

June 22, 2023
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Protect Democracy and its partners filed a defamation suit in Superior Court in Phoenix on behalf of Stephen Richer, the elected Recorder of Maricopa County, against former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, her campaign, and an organization that she founded after the 2022 election.

Every American has a right to express their views — and even to criticize or insult others — but that right does not extend to spreading harmful falsehoods about another person. There is, as the United States Supreme Court has observed, “no constitutional value in false statements of fact,” and it is absolutely false to state that Mr. Richer intentionally sabotaged the 2022 election to prevent Republican candidates from winning.

Moreover, the continued spread of the falsehood that Mr. Richer intentionally administered the election to sabotage Republican candidates has imposed substantial harm on Mr. Richer, and resulted in numerous threats of violence against him and his family.

Protect Democracy and its partners are proud to represent Mr. Richer in this matter. The official court case docket number is CV2023-009417 filed as Stephen Richer v Kari Lake, the Kari Lake for Governor Campaign, and the Save Arizona Fund.