Kari Lake Settles Defamation Case Brought By Arizona Republican Official Over Election Lies

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

A defamation case against Kari Lake brought forward by an Arizona Republican election official over her election fraud claims has been settled.

Following her loss in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, Lake blamed Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a lifelong Republican, for her failure to defeat her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs.

According to the Washington Post, the details surrounding the settlement are confidential but a court docket from the Maricopa County Superior Court stated on Sunday that “an agreed upon settlement disposition has been reached as to all parties and claims.”

Richer stated in a text message to WaPo that “both sides are satisfied with the result.” Initially, when Richer brought forward the lawsuit against Lake he demanded she make statements acknowledging the claims she made against him were untrue as well as pay for damages and attorney’s fees.

Moreover, he previously demanded Lake and her allies take down any information related to her false claims of election fraud from social media and other websites.

Richer alleged in the lawsuit that Lake, her 2022 gubernatorial campaign, and an allied nonprofit group had falsely accused him of causing Lake to lose the election leading to various threats against him and his family.

The settlement with Richer appears days after Lake admitted she lost the 2024 Senate election against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). She previously lost the governorship to Hobbs by almost 17,000 votes.