Rep. Mesha Mainor, an Atlanta-based lawmaker, has filed a lawsuit against key officials in Fulton County, including the district attorney responsible for prosecuting former President Donald Trump. The lawsuit alleges that these officials colluded to support a former campaign worker who engaged in stalking behavior towards Rep. Mainor.
Mainor brought a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court against several parties, including the county, the county’s ethics board, County Commissioner Marvin Arrington, and District Attorney Fani Willis. In her lawsuit, Mainor specifically mentioned Arrington and Willis, both in their personal capacities and in their professional roles.
Mainor, in part, filed the claims under the state’s Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization statute, which was also utilized by Willis in her indictment against Trump. The state lawmaker, who made headlines for switching to the Republican Party last year, is pursuing a range of 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 started 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 obtained in August 2019. Later, a second aggravated assault charge was added.
Willis dismissed one of the aggravated stalking cases. The district attorney then presented a plea deal, offering 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 dissatisfied with the deal. She claimed that Willis failed to inform her about the offer, which she believed violated the Georgia Crime Victims Bill of Rights.
In October 2020, the campaign worker, who was described as a friend of Arrington, enlisted the services of the county commissioner as his attorney. In the lawsuit, Mainor alleges that the commissioner utilized his influence to bypass the office policies of the District Attorney’s office.
According to the lawsuit, residents of Fulton County hire Commissioner Arrington as their defense attorney because of the significant influence he wields within the District Attorney’s Office. As a Fulton County Commissioner, Arrington is responsible for overseeing and allocating the budget for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
Furthermore, Mainor accuses Willis of repeatedly granting bond to her stalker for non-bondable offenses and neglecting to inform her about court hearings. She also claims that Arrington and Willis discussed the case prior to Willis taking office.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Mainor expressed her disappointment, stating, “She never stood up for me as a victim or as a resident of Fulton County. Instead, she always seemed to be aligned with the commissioner and took revenge on me after I reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice Office [on] Violence Against Women.”
In October 2020, Mainor lodged an ethics complaint against Arrington, which was later closed by the county’s ethics board in March 2021. Mainor’s lawsuit argues that the board did not adhere to proper procedure when handling the ethics complaint.
Arrington did not provide an immediate response, and requests for comment to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office spokesperson went unanswered. Mainor also mentioned the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission, which was signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp earlier this year.
According to Mainor, the passage of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission is an important milestone in ensuring accountability and providing a means for citizens who have been failed by the system to seek recourse.