Kanye West’s former publicist Trevian Kutti charged in Trump indictment

Kanye West’s ex-publicist Trevian Kutti was among those to be charged in the latest indictment of former US president Donald Trump.

The charges relate to the alleged intimidation of election workers following the 2020 US presidential election.

According to the charges, Kutti, 51, travelled to the home of Ruby Freeman, an election worker in Fulton County, Georgia, in January 2021.

Her visit came amid repeated and unfounded accusations of election fraud from Trump, who lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden.

It is claimed that Kutti attempted to pressure Freeman into admitting the baseless fraud claims, allegedly telling her that people would otherwise come to her home within 48 hours, and she would face arrest.

After Kutti allegedly accosted Freeman at her house, the election worker became concerned and rang the police. According to a police incident report, Kutti identified herself as a “crisis manager”.

At the suggestion of an officer, Freeman and Kutti then travelled to a police station. While at the station, Kutti was allegedly seen cornering Freeman and threatening her with jail time, in bodycam footage captured by a nearby officer.

In 2021, a spokesperson for the rapper told Reuters: “Trevian Kutti was not associated with Kanye West or any of his enterprises at the times of the facts that are reported in these articles or since these facts occurred.”

The Independent has contacted a representative of West for comment.

A total of 19 people were charged on Monday (15 August), including Trump himself. The billionaire mogul has been indicted four times in as many months, with two instances relating to his actions in the wake of the 2020 election.

Among the other names to be indicted were Trump’s lawyer and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

West, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021, has been a vocal supporter of Trump in the past. The “Jesus Walks” rapper ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020, and claimed last November that he had asked the disgraced ex-president to be his running mate in 2024.

In recent months, West has largely stepped back from the public eye, following a string of controversies surrounding antisemitic comments. During an appearance on the right-wing platform Infowars, West claimed that he “liked” Adolf Hitler, and was banned from Twitter and Instagram in late 2022 after a number of antisemitic social media posts. The controversy resulted in a number of brands cutting ties with him, including Adidas and Balenciaga, as well as his talent agency CAA.