Rep. Mesha Mainor, a Democrat from Atlanta, has filed a lawsuit against key Fulton County officials, including the district attorney responsible for prosecuting former President Donald Trump. The lawsuit alleges that these officials conspired to provide assistance to a former campaign worker who engaged in stalking behavior towards the state lawmaker.
Mainor has taken legal action by filing a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court. The lawsuit specifically names the county, the county’s ethics board, County Commissioner Marvin Arrington, and District Attorney Fani Willis as defendants. Mainor has included both Arrington and Willis in their individual capacities as well as their professional capacities.
Mainor, in part, filed the claims using the state’s Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization statute, one of the statutes Willis employed in her indictment against Trump. The state legislator, who gained media attention for switching to the Republican Party last year, is pursuing different damages, including punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
According to a lawsuit reported by Fox 5 Atlanta, Mainor claims that a campaign worker she hired in January 2019 began stalking her after being fired the following month. The campaign worker was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury on charges of aggravated stalking and violating a temporary protective order that Mainor had obtained in August 2019. Later, a second charge of aggravated assault was added.
Willis dismissed one of the aggravated stalking cases, but the district attorney presented a plea deal. The deal involved a three-year sentence, with one year to be served in prison and the remainder on probation, taking into account the time already served. However, Mainor was not in favor of this agreement. She claimed that Willis failed to inform her about the offer, which violated the Georgia Crime Victims Bill of Rights.
According to the lawsuit, the campaign worker, who was identified as a friend of Arrington, enlisted the services of the county commissioner as his legal representative in October 2020. Mainor, in the lawsuit, alleges that the commissioner utilized his influence to bypass the established office policies of the District Attorney’s office.
According to the lawsuit, Commissioner Arrington is hired by Fulton County residents as a defense attorney due to his influential position within the District Attorney’s Office. The lawsuit claims that as a Fulton County Commissioner, Arrington holds responsibility for overseeing and making decisions regarding the budget of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
Mainor claimed that Willis had repeatedly released her stalker on bond for non-bondable crimes and failed to inform her about court proceedings. She further alleged that Arrington and Willis had discussed the case before Willis took office.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Mainor expressed her frustration, stating that she never received support from the commissioner as a victim or as a resident of Fulton County. She further claimed that the commissioner was always aligned with her opponent and retaliated against her after she reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.
In October 2020, Mainor lodged an ethics complaint against Arrington. However, the county’s ethics board closed the case in March 2021. Mainor argues in the lawsuit that the board did not adhere to the correct procedure when resolving the ethics complaint.
Arrington did not respond right away, and the Fulton County District Attorney’s office spokesperson did not provide any comments upon request. Mainor also made mention of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission, a bill that was signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp earlier this year.
According to Mainor, the passage of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission is an important step in holding individuals accountable and providing a means of recourse for citizens who have been failed by the system.
