Publisher of ‘2000 Mules’ apologizes to Georgia man falsely accused of ballot fraud in the film

ATLANTA– The publisher of “2000 Mules” issued a statement Friday apologizing to a Georgia man who appeared in the film and was falsely accused of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The widely debunked film includes surveillance video showing Mark Andrews, his face blurred, putting five ballots into a mailbox in the Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville, while a voiceover by conservative pundit and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza says : “What you see is a crime. These are fraudulent votes.”

Salem Media Group said in the statement that it has “removed the film from Salem’s platforms and there will be no future distribution of the film or book by Salem.”

“It was never our intention that the publication of the 2000 film and book Mules would harm Mr. Andrews. We apologize for any pain the inclusion of Mr Andrews’ image in the film, book and promotional material has caused Mr Andrews and his family,” the statement said.

A state investigation found that Andrews delivered ballots for himself, his wife and their three adult children, all of whom lived at the same address. That’s legal in Georgia, and an investigator said there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Andrews.

The film uses research from True the Vote, a Texas-based nonprofit, to suggest that voting mules affiliated with Democrats were paid to illegally collect and deliver ballots in Georgia and four others closely monitored. monitored states. An Associated Press analysis found it is based on faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and incorrect analysis of cell phone location data.

Salem said it “relied on statements made by Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote, Inc. (“TTV”) that the individuals depicted in the videos provided to us by TTV, including Mr. Andrews, had illegally deposited ballots.

Attorneys for D’Souza and True the Vote did not immediately respond to emails Friday afternoon seeking comment on Salem’s statement.

Andrews filed a federal lawsuit against D’Souza, True the Vote and Salem in October 2022. The case is ongoing, and representatives for Salem and Andrews’ legal team did not immediately respond to emails asking whether the statement was a result of the lawsuit.