South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau pleads not guilty to trespassing
South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau pleads not guilty to trespassing
South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau appeared in court Tuesday for a plea and arraignment hearing tied to his 2023 trespassing arrest. Kamau pled not guilty to the charge of criminal trespass. He is expected back in court on Nov. 3 for a case management hearing, followed by a final plea hearing on Nov. 18.
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau appeared in court Tuesday for a plea and arraignment hearing tied to his 2023 trespassing arrest.
What we know:
Kamau pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal trespass.
His attorney told the judge he was withdrawing from the case after representing the mayor pro bono for nearly two years. The judge said the mayor will now need a public defender, and must qualify for one.
Kamau's attorney said he and District Attorney Fani Willis tried to resolve the case out of court, but the mayor would not apologize to the people whose property he allegedly trespassed on two years ago.
Willis' new PR team said Kamau submitted an apology letter, but the DA didn't accept it.
What they're saying:
"Ms. Boykin and Ms. Willis, I stand by them, they stood up and tried to resolve this case," said Jacoby Hudson, who represented the mayor until Tuesday. "I think that it will be a disservice to Mr. Kamau if he is representing himself."
"Rather than use the incredible power of her office to hold accountable, the police who murdered Rayshard Brooks, Deacon John, Holeman and Devon Anderson right, in the city of South Fulton, the district attorney, has instead decided to go after a Black Lives Matter activist, popularly elected as mayor, with a two-year-old misdemeanor, just weeks before my re-election," Mayor Kamau said. "As is the case with her prosecution of President Trump, this politically motivated prosecution will fail."
What's next:
Kamau is expected back in court on Nov. 3 for a case management hearing, followed by a final plea hearing on Nov. 18.
The backstory:
The case stems from a July 2023 incident when Kamau entered a lake house along Cascade Palmetto Highway without permission. The mayor said he had admired the property as his "dream home" and decided to look inside.
The homeowner confronted Kamau with a gun and called police. He was initially charged with first-degree burglary and criminal trespass, but prosecutors later dropped the felony burglary count.
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Kamau recently announced that he will run for reelection as mayor of South Fulton.