Stephen Cliffgard Lee is an American

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and former law enforcement officer allegedly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election results in Georgia.

Career

Lee worked as a police officer in California in the 1980s before becoming a chaplain and leading a crisis response team for law enforcement. From 1980 to 1987, he was a sergeant in the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. He also worked as a special agent for the

Naval Criminal Investigative Service The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary investigative law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate major criminal activities involving the Nav ...

. In 1996, he founded Peace Officer Ministries Inc., and was its executive director until 2010. From 2016 to 2018, Lee led a Lutheran church's Quick Response Team providing chaplain services to law enforcement. Lee graduated from

Concordia Theological Seminary Concordia Theological Seminary is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Lutheran seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It offers professional, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees affiliated with training clergy and deaconesses for the Lutheran Churc ...

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

in 1992, and is an ordained pastor of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

(LCMS). As of 2023, he was retired (referred to within LCMS as being on "emeritus status"). In 2020, Lee was vacancy pastor for the Living Word Lutheran Church in

Orland Park, Illinois Orland Park is a Village (United States)#Illinois, village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County, Illinois, Will County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Orland Park ...

2020 presidential election indictment

After the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Lee visited the home of Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman. Freeman had been falsely accused of election fraud by allies of former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. Lee claimed he could help Freeman, but she declined his offer. Lee then contacted Trump campaign worker Harrison Floyd to arrange another meeting with Freeman, which resulted in Freeman being pressured to confess to false assertions of election fraud by Trevian Kutti. In 2022, Lee became the second witness to avoid testifying before a Fulton County special grand jury investigating election interference. An Illinois judge denied the summons for Lee to appear before the grand jury, saying prosecutors had not provided enough evidence that Lee was a necessary witness. Prosecutors were given 30 days to file an amended

court summons A summons (also known in England and Wales as a claim form or plaint note, and in the Australian state of New South Wales as a court attendance notice (CAN)) is a legal document issued by a court (a ''judicial summons'') or by an administrative ag ...

with additional information. On August 14, 2023, Lee was indicted in

Fulton County, Georgia Fulton County is a county in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most populous county. Its county seat and most ...

, on charges of violating the Georgia state RICO act, two counts of criminal attempt to commit influencing of a witness, conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings, and influencing witnesses related to this incident. On November 13, 2023, Lee said he would not take a

plea deal A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

. "I am not going to plead out to a lie, I'm not going to cooperate with evil. This is bigger than me."“Donald Trump Gets Good News as Dominoes in Georgia Case Fall”, Newsweek, November 13, 2023
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Personal life

Lee has been married to his wife Elaine since 1978. They have four children and six grandchildren.

References

External links

Mendocino County Sheriff's OfficePeace Officer Ministries, Inc.Living Word Lutheran Church, Orland Park, Illinois
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Stephen Cliffgard Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) West Valley College alumni Azusa Pacific University alumni Concordia Theological Seminary alumni American chaplains American police officers Law enforcement officials from California Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod people Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents 20th-century American Lutheran clergy 21st-century American Lutheran clergy The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump, et al. defendants

Career

2020 presidential election indictment

Personal life

See also

References

External links