A federal judge granted a Maricopa County, Arizona, motion for sanctions against Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake Thursday, meaning she will have to pay a fine one week after filing a lawsuit accusing county election officials of violating elections laws.
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi said in his decision that Lake made “false, misleading and unsupported factual assertions” in her initial lawsuit claiming “unauthorized persons” manipulated voting machines during Arizona’s gubernatorial election.
Tuchi cites insufficient evidence supporting any of Lake’s claims, adding the plaintiffs—members of Lake’s election staff in addition to Lake herself—”have voted on paper ballots, contradicting allegations and representations” of statements made by Lake.
Steve Bannon—who served as President Donald Trump’s chief strategist—was not named in the sanctions despite counseling Lake in her bid to contest election results.
Sanctions must be enough to “deter repetition” of similar allegations in the future in addition to the payment of Katie Hobbs’ attorney fees, but it is not yet clear how much Lake will have to pay.
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