Trump’s Targeting of Election Officials Results in Threats Against Them

Shaye Moss, a former election worker in Georgia, has faced a barrage of violent threats and attacks since becoming the target of a baseless conspiracy theory promoted by former President Donald Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, following the 2020 election. The conspiracy theories alleged that Moss was involved in processing fake ballots for Joe Biden in Fulton County, where she had worked as an Elections Department Official since 2017.

As a result of the threats and attacks, Moss had to go into hiding, conceal her identity, and quit her job. She even had to change her appearance and lose weight to avoid being recognized. Speaking before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol insurrection, Moss said, “It’s turned my life upside down. I no longer give out my business card… I don’t want anyone knowing my name. I don’t go to the grocery store at all. I haven’t been anywhere at all. I just don’t do nothing anymore.”

Moss’s mother, Ruby Freeman, who also worked the 2020 election, has also been targeted with threats by Trump supporters. Both women testified before the committee about the toll the harassment and intimidation have taken on their lives.

Despite the challenges she has faced, Moss’s integrity, courage, and dedication to democracy have not gone unnoticed. She received the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award along with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Rusty Bowers, the Speaker of the House in Arizona, who refused to cave to Trump’s pressure to overturn the state’s election results.

Moss’s experience highlights the dangerous consequences of false claims of election fraud and the need to protect election workers and officials from harassment and violence. As Moss put it, “All because of lies.”