GOVERNOR INSLEE: Election Result Lies From Officials Should Be Crime

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wants lawmakers to pass legislation making it a gross misdemeanor for elected officials and candidates to spread lies about election results.

The Democratic governor spoke forcefully against what he called “a continuing coup” on the one-year anniversary of both the Capitol insurrection in Washington, D.C., and a protest where demonstrators breached the gate of the governor’s residence in Olympia.

Inslee cited three Republican state lawmakers who used taxpayer dollars to attend a symposium on election fraud that trafficked in debunked conspiracy theories.

Inslee believes the proposal would be constitutional because in order for the gross misdemeanor to kick in, there would have to be “knowledge that there’s potential to create violence.”