ELECTION FRAUD CONVICTION

On November 18, 2024, former candidate for City Council of Beach City, Kyle Diamond, pled guilty and was convicted of Election Fraud and two counts of Burglary of a Motor Vehicle.

Beginning in October of 2023, Beach City voters began receiving unusual e-mails and letters stating that the upcoming election had been cancelled and insisted that voters did not need to show up to vote.
The Chambers County Elections Integrity Task Force, comprised of Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, County Clerk Heather Hawthorne, County Attorney Ashley Cain Land, and District Attorney Cheryl Lieck Henry, was alerted and an investigation was launched.

After a thorough investigation by the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, it was revealed that Diamond, a candidate in the election, had manipulated an old copy of a 2021 Order of Cancellation to falsely claim the election was cancelled in an attempt to persuade Beach City voters to stay home. Diamond sent copies of this manipulated document to voters by e-mail and placed copies in their mailboxes.

During a traffic stop, a search of Diamond’s vehicle revealed marijuana, stolen campaign signs belonging to Diamond’s opponent, and exact copies of the letters Beach City voters had been receiving.

After obtaining witness statements, video evidence, and a search of Diamond’s phone, investigators positively linked Diamond to the e-mails and letters. Around this same time, Diamond was also spotted on neighbors’ home security systems burglarizing vehicles and was charged with two counts of Burglary of a Motor Vehicle.
County Attorney Ashley Cain Land and the Election Integrity Task Force sincerely thank the Sheriff’s Office for their dedicated investigation into this crime. The County Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute these acts to ensure election integrity in our county. Commenting after the conviction, County Clerk Heather Hawthorne expressed she is “proud to be a part of a team that believes elections should be fair and honest. All candidates should be able to campaign without interference.