Georgia Rep. Park Cannon Won't Face Charges Following Arrest: DA

Atlanta GA

07 April, 2021

1:56 PM

Description

ATLANTA, GA – A Georgia State Representative who was arrested after knocking on the office door of Gov. Brian Kemp following the passage of a new state voting law won't face criminal charges stemming from the incident, according to a decision announced by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced on Wednesday. Rep. Park Cannon, a Democrat, was arrested on March 25 and charged with obstruction of law enforcement and disruption of the General Assembly. Cannon was taken into custody by police officers after she knocked on Kemp's door while he was speaking on television after he signed Senate Bill 202 into law. On Wednesday, Willis announced that she had decided to close the matter, according to a statement issued to the Associated Press. She said the matter would not be presented to a grand jury for consideration of indictment. "While some of Representative Cannon's colleagues and the police officers involved may have found her behavior annoying, such sentiment does not justify a presentment to a grand jury of the allegations in the arrest warrants or any other felony charges," Willis said in the statement. Cannon was released from jail after her arrest, which came on the heels of Kemp signing the law, which requires Georgia residents voting absentee by mail to provide a photo ID. It also prohibits people from handing out water or snacks to voters waiting in line to get to the ballot box and also provides the state Board of Elections more power to act in local elections. An email sent to Cannon's attorney, Gerald Griggs, seeking comment on Willis' decision was not immediately returned. Griggs sent a reply to the AP stating, "We are appreciative of the decision of the district attorney after we provided witnesses to her and we plan to speak publicly very soon about our next steps." The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.