A Fulton County elections worker targeted by harassment and conspiracy theories after the 2020 election, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, has won the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
Moss is one of five people being honored for their roles in protecting democracy. The recipients were announced Thursday by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
Former President Donald Trump and his supporters falsely accused Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, of rigging the election by counting absentee ballots stored in hidden “suitcases” at State Farm Arena on election night. Election investigations and publicly available videos showed no improprieties.
Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Even after election officials debunked fraud allegations, Moss faced death threats and racist taunts, forcing her to go into hiding.
“Despite the onslaught of random, undeserved, and malicious attacks, Moss continues to serve in the Fulton County Department of Registration & Elections doing the hard and unseen work to run our democracy,” the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation said.
Moss and Freeman later filed a defamation lawsuit, which resulted in a settlement with the right-wing One America News Network on Thursday. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. The lawsuit is still ongoing against Trump’s former attorney, Rudy Giuliani. A separate defamation lawsuit is also pending against The Gateway Pundit.
Besides Moss, the other recipients of this year’s Profile in Courage Award are Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers.
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