Georgia
SW Georgia congressional candidate convicted in Jan. 6 Capitol riot case walks out on debate • Georgia Recorder
Tensions in Georgia’s GOP primary for the 2nd congressional district came to a head Sunday at the Atlanta Press Club’s debate, with one candidate abruptly leaving after reading a prepared statement.
Wayne Johnson, a former Trump administration official, and Chuck Hand, who is a construction superintendent who was convicted of a misdemeanor for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, are in a June 18 runoff. Johnson was the top vote-getter last month, winning about 45% of the vote. Hand came in second with 32%.
Whoever wins this month will face longtime Democratic incumbent Congressman Sanford Bishop of Albany in a southwest Georgia district that leans Democratic. Early voting starts Monday.
“I’m not interested in debating the issues of the 2nd District with a man who doesn’t even reside in it, especially one who orchestrates attacks on my wife,” Hand said in brief remarks during the debate at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta.
“This race is very simple. It’s either 8th District money or 2nd District heart. The choice is yours. It’s the dollar versus the change,” he said. “Now this is where I get back in my truck and head back to southwest Georgia because I got two races to win.”
Hand is referring to a press conference held in late May in Columbus by third-place finisher Michael Nixon, who hired a law firm to investigate claims against Hand and his wife that Nixon said were passed along to him earlier in the race.
Nixon, who has endorsed Johnson, said he wanted the public to be aware that Hand and his wife “bring with them to this race significant criminal backgrounds and a demonstration of financial irresponsibility.”
After the debate, Johnson acknowledged that he does not currently live within the boundaries of the 2nd District. The Macon resident said he employs people in the district and owns properties inside the district and that he will move to a home he owns in Plains if elected, though it is not required.
“I just didn’t think he wanted to stand in front of people and answer to what Michael Nixon put forth,” Johnson told reporters after the debate. “I’m a little bit – I won’t say surprised – I’m a little bit disappointed, because voters need to know who they’re sizing up to be their representative. And when you’re absent, nobody can size you up.”
After Hand left the Georgia Public Broadcasting studio, he was stopped by reporters who were covering the debate. Hand went on to take questions for about 18 minutes and provided remarks he said he planned to deliver soon at his own press conference in Columbus.
Hand called Nixon’s press conference “character assassination” but seemed to acknowledge that some of the claims publicly outlined by Nixon were true, such as the couple’s bankruptcy and his wife’s past conviction for a drug-related charge. His wife leads the local GOP party in Taylor County, which is home to about 8,000 people. He serves as vice chair.
“It’s perfectly fine to attack me as a candidate. I expect that. But to come out and publicly attack my wife, that’s a completely different situation,” Hand said. “My wife has paid her debt to society, long before I ever met her. And she’ll tell you it was the best thing that ever happened to her. It changed her life for the better and now she walks with the Lord.”
But Hand disputed some of the details related to his arrest for the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, saying he grabbed a piece of aluminum fencing because he was concerned it would hurt someone and not because he planned to use it as a weapon. Hand was sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation for his role on Jan. 6.
He also says he was not convicted of older charges of criminal trespassing or driving under the influence of alcohol. He said he has been in recovery since 2017.
Sunday’s debate was part of the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series. A shortened version of the debate went on without Hand, who was represented by an empty podium, with Johnson picking up the question about the in-the-works farm bill that Hand walked out on without answering.
Johnson said he has concerns about a U.S. House GOP proposal that would cut aid for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
“The farm bill has a lot of positives but at the end of the day, it’s not doing enough for the small-town farmer, particularly the Black farmer and rancher, and it’s also not doing enough to maintain these very important food nutrition programs,” Johnson said during Sunday’s program.
Johnson said he planned to ask Hand how he would win over Democrats to beat Bishop in November as part of the debate series’ custom of allowing the candidates to ask each other a question.
“This race will boil down to can we get 50,000 Democrats to vote Republican and can we get the Republicans to hold and vote Republican,” Johnson said. “Sanford Bishop has actually done, I think, a very good job over the years of coalescing both Democrats and Republicans.”
In his comments to reporters, Hand argues he is the best candidate to take on Bishop, calling himself the “2nd District First candidate.”
“I’ve been doing the work on the ground for years working on defeating Sanford Bishop. That’s what it’s about. Standing in there just talking if, ands and buts, if we can get the job done, what would we do? That’s pointless. The job is defeating Sanford Bishop and I’m the candidate that can do that,” Hand said.
Nixon told reporters last month that he shared what he had learned about the Hands because he wanted it to come out before a Republican candidate faced Bishop in the fall.
“I would rather take care of dirty laundry inside the GOP before anything gets past the election so that way we do our due diligence,” Nixon said.
Georgia
Georgia football star Rodarius Thomas being held without bail after arrest on family violence charges
Rodarius “Rara” Thomas will be away from the Georgia football team for the foreseeable future. The Bulldogs wide receiver was suspended indefinitely after he was booked into jail around 3:20 a.m. Friday, Athens-Clarke County jail records show.
Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery. He is being held without bail.
Thomas’ arrest marks the latest in a string of legal issues involving various members of the powerhouse college football team over the past several months.
This week’s arrest marks Thomas’ second in the past 18 months. University of Georgia Police arrested the wide receiver in January 2023 on a felony charge of false imprisonment and a misdemeanor count of family violence battery.
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Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery early Friday, July 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga., adding to the team’s recent legal woes. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Those charges were later dropped when Thomas entered a pretrial diversion program. Details about Friday’s arrest were not immediately available.
Georgia Athletic Association spokesperson Steven Drummond said the situation involving Thomas “is a pending legal matter. We will have no further comment at this point.”
TWO GEORGIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARRESTED ON BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS ON RECKLESS DRIVING CHARGES
Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart spoke at Southeastern Conference media days July 16 about attempts to address repeated driving offenses by his players.
A Georgia Bulldogs helmet during the fourth quarter of a game against the Missouri Tigers at Sanford Stadium Nov. 4, 2023, in Athens, Ga. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Smart said players have been suspended and fined through the collective that provides name, image and likeness (NIL) payments to the school’s athletes. Smart’s policy is to not make public announcements when players are suspended.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s right to go down to the town square and publicly shame kids,” Smart said at SEC media days earlier this month. “When that happens, they go through a lot. And there’s a lot of remorse from these young men who’ve made mistakes. But our job is to educate. Continue to grow these young men.”
A team official confirmed the suspension of Thomas.
Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
The Bulldogs open the season in Atlanta Aug. 31 in a matchup with the Clemson Tigers.
Georgia players have been involved in 24 driving-related violations (DUI, reckless driving or speeding), The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has reported, including a crash that killed a player and a recruiting staffer in January 2023.
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Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash on Jan. 15, 2023, just days after the Bulldogs won the national title game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A Georgia woman is facing murder charges after a 4-year-old boy died inside of a car, authorities say.
On July 24, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrestedKelsey Monaco, 30, a Fitzgerald resident, about 154 miles west of Savannah. The Fitzgerald Police Department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the death of the child.
Investigators said the child left his apartment unsupervised and made his way inside of a car.
The 4-year-old was then found unresponsive inside the car. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Monaco was taken into custody and booked at the Ben Hill County Jail.
USA TODAY reached out to authorities to find out Monaco’s relationship to the child and if the child died because the car was hot, but we have not heard back.
‘This can’t be real’: He left his daughter alone in a hot car for hours. She died.
Georgia woman charged with murder, investigation ongoing
Monaco is currently in custody at the Ben Hill County Jail.
Arrest records show that Monaco is facing the following charges:
- 1 count, first-degree child cruelty
- 1 count, felony murder
This investigation into the 4-year-old’s death remains active and ongoing. When the investigation is complete, the case will be transferred to the Cordelle Judicial District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, authorities said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fitzgerald Police Department at 229-426-5000 or the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Perry at 478-987-4545. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting a growing number of cases of dengue fever infections in Georgia.
The agency says the disease is the most common mosquito-borne infection worldwide.
There have been almost 2,900 cases of the viral infection in the United States so far in 2024 – nearly as many as were reported in all of 2023. The CDC says there has also been a record number of cases worldwide.
In Georgia, there have been 20 reported cases – up from 16 earlier in July.
What is dengue?
Spread by mosquitoes, most cases of dengue in the United States are associated with travel to areas like the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or other areas with high risk for tourists.
The CDC says most people never know if they have dengue because of a lack of symptoms.
For the 1 in 4 people who do feel sick after becoming infected, symptoms include fever, headache, skin itching and rash, vomiting, and muscle and joint pains.
In rare cases, people may get severe dengue, a medical emergency that can quickly get worse. Symptoms of this include belly pain, persistent vomiting, a bleeding nose or gums, and vomiting blood.
If you have any symptoms, talk to your doctor and share your recent travel history.
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