'Deportation Bus' Candidate Pleads Not Guilty in Fraud Case

A Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate who campaigned in a "deportation bus" has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges, the AP reports. Ex-state Sen. Michael Williams was indicted last month in Hall County northeast of Atlanta on charges of insurance fraud and lying to investigators. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Williams requested a jury trial ahead of an arraignment hearing Wednesday. Attorney A.J. Richman said Williams "looks forward to his day in court." The charges stem from a May incident when Williams reported his campaign office was burglarized. Williams' campaign manager said then that $300,000 worth of computers used to mine cryptocurrency was taken. Williams finished last in the five-man Republican gubernatorial primary. He campaigned on loyalty to President Donald Trump and publicity stunts, including the "deportation bus," symbolically targeting people in the country illegally. (More Georgia stories.)