A Georgia councilman was charged after accused of threatening a woman and hurling racial slurs at her in a parking lot
- A Georgia councilman was charged after being accused of threatening a woman and calling her racial slurs.
- Councilman Jimmy Barnes was arrested but later released with orders to wear an ankle monitor.
- He was removed from his position as a committee chair, WGXA-TV reported.
A Fort Valley, Georgia councilman, was charged with aggravated assault and terroristic threats after being accused of threatening to shoot a woman and calling her racial slurs, according to reports.
According to an incident report obtained by WMAZ, the confrontation between councilman Jimmy Barnes and the woman happened at a parking lot of a highway food mart earlier this month.
"The Peach County Sheriff's Office was requested by the Fort Valley Police Dept. on July 3, 2021, to investigate an incident involving Jimmy Barnes," Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese said in a Facebook post on Monday. "This incident happened in the parking lot of Hwy. 49 Package Store/Coin Laundry in Fort Valley."
Barnes was arrested on July 12 but released on bond three days later with conditions to wear an ankle monitor, as WGXA-TV reported.
Last week, city council officials had a meeting regarding Barnes' arrest to discuss disciplinary action and ultimately decided to remove him from his position as a committee chairman, according to the report.
According to the news station, Fort Valley Mayor Barbara William was not against their decision but thinks more could have been done.
"I would like to have seen the removal from the committee chairman as well as a suspension for a period of time until the matter is resolved. That's what I would've like to have seen," Williams told the outlet.