Trump’s Georgia charges thrust Coffee county in to the spotlight. Its people seek accountability

Frustrated residents of rural county seek answers over officials' involvement in alleged election conspiracy

The Coffee county, Georgia, board of elections held its first meeting Tuesday after being mentioned more than 50 times in Fulton county's indictment of Donald Trump and 18 others for allegedly participating in a criminal conspiracy to change the outcome of the 2020 election. Local residents, still frustrated over a lack of accountability for officials who may have known about the conspiracy, pressured the reluctant board for an independent investigation.

The small, rural county 200 miles south-east of Atlanta made its way into the indictment - and global headlines - because Trump allegedly sent associates there to copy software and other digital information from the state's elections system in early 2021. Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, called it the largest voting systems breach in US history".