GOP ex-lawmaker, Turning Point Action leader, offered plea deal in petition signature forgery case
Former Arizona legislator Austin Smith has been offered a plea deal in a multiple-felony criminal case that alleges he personally forged numerous voter signatures on his own petitions for reelection.
Smith was indicted in June by a Maricopa County grand jury on four felony counts for presenting documents he knew were forged to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, in addition to 10 misdemeanor counts for personally forging the names of electors on his reelection petitions.
The Republican from Surprise was a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, which has a history of spreading false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and pushed for election law changes in the state legislature.
At the time he was indicted, Smith was strategic director of Turning Point Action, Turning Point USA’s advocacy arm. TPUSA is a far-right organization based in Phoenix that aims to mobilize young conservatives founded by Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed last week while speaking to a group of college students in Utah.
https://azmirror.com/briefs/austin-smith-ex-lawmaker-turning-point-leader-offered-plea-deal-in-petition-signature-forgery-case/
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