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Georgia lawmaker ‘shaken but resolved’ following arrest at election bill signing
A viral video of Cannon, who is a Black woman, being forcibly escorted out of the statehouse by Georgia state troopers, even after she identified herself as a state representative, sparked national outrage. She argued that the public and other members of the General Assembly should be allowed to witness the event.
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© Alyssa Pointer/AP State Rep. Park Cannon is placed into the back of a Georgia State Capitol patrol car after being arrested by Georgia State Troopers at the Georgia State Capitol Building in Atlanta, March 25, 2021.
“It reminds us of the 50s and the 60s in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia and South Carolina,” Cannon’s attorney, Greg Griggs, said. “But I think the governor needs to understand that we are not going to sit back on George Wallace type tactics and not respond the same way we responded to George Wallace. So I think the rest of the country needs to take a very strong look at the tactics that are being used in Georgia. The Justice Department needs to get involved. There needs to be passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect voting rights. And we need the Justice Department to crack down on the tactics of these local and state officials that are trying to silence voters and silence people.”
Griggs said Cannon was arrested in an area that state lawmakers normally have access to and added she did not expect to be apprehended by law enforcement.
“She has access to all parts of the People’s House and so there was no indication that the ceremony should have been closed off. Many times when a governor signs bills that are going to go into law, it’s open to the public, to the press and to other members of the House of Representatives and the state Senate,” Griggs said.
Griggs told ABC News that Cannon plans to return to the Georgia State Capitol on Monday to keep working. He also said the state of Georgia should expect a “prolonged legal fight” even if charges are dismissed.
![Brian P. Kemp wearing a suit and tie: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp makes remarks during a news conference at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, March 16, 2021.]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"53","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1f2uma.img?h=532&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=487&y=233"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1f2uma.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=487&y=233"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1f2uma.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=487&y=233"}})
© Alyssa Pointer/AP, FILE Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp makes remarks during a news conference at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, March 16, 2021.
“She’ll be doing the job that she was elected to do for her district and the people of Georgia. And as far as the charges are concerned, they’re just allegations at this point. They have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Griggs said.
“The constitution of the state of Georgia is quite clear on that a duly elected representative cannot be arrested during a session. That’s a violation of the Constitution unless there are three exceptions: One would be a felony, two would be a breach of the peace and three would be a treason. We believe, based on the facts and evidence that we have uncovered so far, neither of those exceptions apply,” he added.
Griggs said he and Cannon’s team are in touch with the district attorney’s office and are hopeful that the charges will be dismissed.
MORE: Biden calls new GOP-passed Georgia law restricting voting access an ‘atrocity’
He also said Kemp and Cannon have not spoken to each other since the incident — and that Kemp has not reached out. Griggs wouldn’t say if Cannon is owed an apology.
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© Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images President Joe Biden answers a question during his first press briefing in the East Room of the White House , March 25, 2021.
President Joe Biden, Stacey Abrams, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and other prominent Democrats have expressed support for Cannon, many sharing photos that compare her to civil rights protesters in the 1960s. When asked if that was her intention, Griggs said she’s trying to “make sure that the voices of the voters in her district and around the state of Georgia were amplified.”
Kemp has defended the bill and his decision to sign it into law and continued to do so Saturday on Fox News.
“Well, I can truthfully look in the camera and ask my African American friends and other African Americans in Georgia to simply find out what’s in the bill versus the blank statement of this is Jim Crow or this is voter suppression, or this is racist — because it is not,” Kemp said.
Culled from the ABC News ( MaryAlice Parks contributed to this report.
News
‘I’ll bring my plane… I plan on keeping it for another four years’ – Biden on second debate with Trump
President Biden and former President Trump agreed to hold a second debate Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News.
The two candidates had already accepted an invitation earlier Wednesday to attend a CNN debate on June 27, and both confirmed later in the day on social media that they plan to attend the ABC debate in September.
“I’ve also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th,” Biden posted on the social platform X. “Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”
Biden, of course, is referring to the presidential jet, Air Force One.
“It is my great honor to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Likewise, I accept the ABC News Debate against Crooked Joe on September 10th.”
It marked a whirlwind few hours that started with Biden’s campaign publicly proposing two deabtes in June and September and ended with both candidates agreeing to a date and host.
ABC News had planned to host a GOP primary debate in New Hampshire, but it was canceled after Trump and Nikki Haley said they would not attend. Martha Raddatz of ABC co-moderated one of the 2016 presidential debates; the network did not host a debate in 2020.
The candidates have chosen to go around the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has arranged the showdowns dating back to 1988.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon suggested working with outlets that hosted GOP primary debates in 2016 and Democratic primary debates in 2020 to avoid any perceptions of bias.
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says it is investigating a plan by a lawmaker in central Niger state to marry off some 100 female orphans of unknown ages later this month.
Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji announced the mass wedding last week but called off the ceremony following widespread outrage.
Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, condemned the plans.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said she had petitioned the police and filed a lawsuit to stop the marriages pending an investigation to ascertain the age of the orphans and whether they consented to the marriages.
“This is totally unacceptable by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and by the government” of Nigeria, she said.
Last week, Sarkin-Daji announced his support for the mass wedding of the orphans, whose relatives were killed during attacks by armed bandits. He said it was part of his support to his constituents following an appeal for wedding funding by local traditional and religious leaders.
The mass wedding had been scheduled for May 24.
“That support I intend to give for the marriage of those orphans, I’m withdrawing it,” he said. “The parents can have the support [money], if they wish, let them go ahead and marry them off. As it is right now, I’m not threatened by the action of the minister.”
Despite national laws prohibiting it, forced or arranged marriage is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, especially among rural communities in the predominantly Muslim north, where religious and cultural norms such as polygamy favor the practice.
Poor families often use forced marriage to ease financial pressure, and the European Union Agency for Asylum says girls who refuse could face repercussions such as neglect, ostracism, physical assault and rape.
Raquel Kasham Daniel escaped being married off as a teenager when her father died and now runs a nonprofit helping children, especially less-privileged girls, get a formal education for free.
She said the ability of women to avoid forced marriage in Nigeria depends on their income and education.
“I was 16 when I lost my dad and I was almost married off, but then I ran away from home. And that gave me the opportunity to complete my education, and now I have a better life,” Daniel said.
“So, the reason why I prioritize education is to make sure that other girls have access to quality schooling so that it will help them make informed decisions about their lives. Education not only increases our awareness as girls about our rights but also enhances our prospects for higher income earning,” she said.
Thirty percent of girls in Nigeria are married before they turn 18, according to Girls Not Brides, a global network of more than 1,400 civil society groups working to end child marriage.
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