A bail bondsman charged along with former President Trump and 17 others has become the first defendant in Georgia’s election interference case to accept a plea deal with prosecutors.

Scott Hall pleaded guilty in court on Friday to five counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of electoral duties, all felonies. Prosecutors had accused him of taking part in breaking election equipment in rural Coffee County.

He is placed on probation for five years and agrees to testify in further proceedings as part of the deal.

Hall is one of the lower-level players in the indictment filed last month that alleges a vast scheme to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory and keep Republican Trump in power . But the plea deal is nonetheless a significant development in the case and marks a victory for Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis as she pursues a historic racketeering case against a former president.

Earlier Friday, a judge rejected a request by former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark to move the election subversion charges against him in Georgia from state court to federal court.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said he was not ruling on the merits of the charges against Clark, but he concluded that the federal court does not have jurisdiction over the case. He said the outcome of the case will ultimately be up to a Fulton County judge and trier of fact.

Jones had previously rejected a similar request from White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. He is considering the same question from three Georgia Republicans who falsely declared that then-President Trump won in 2020.

The practical consequences of moving to federal court would have been a jury pool that covers a broader area and is potentially more conservative than Fulton County alone, and a trial that would not be photographed or televised, as cameras are not allowed in federal courtrooms. But it would not have opened the door for Trump, if re-elected in 2024, or for another president to pardon, because any conviction would still happen under state law.

The indictment alleges that Clark wrote a letter after the election stating that the Justice Department identified significant concerns that may have affected the outcome of the elections in multiple states, including Georgia, and that he the ministry has asked to sign it and send it to Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp and state legislative leaders. Clark knew at the time that statement was false, the complaint alleges.

Clark’s attorneys had argued that the actions described in the indictment were directly related to his work as a federal official at the Justice Department. At the time, Clark was the assistant attorney general overseeing the Environment and Natural Resources Division and was the acting assistant attorney general over the civil division.

But the judge said Clark failed to provide evidence showing he was acting within the scope of his role at the Justice Department when he wrote a letter in December 2020 alleging the department was investigating voter irregularities. To the contrary, the evidence before the Court indicates the opposite: Clark’s role in the Civil Division did not include any role in the investigation or supervision of state elections, Jones wrote.