A Georgia mayor was arrested on Saturday morning for breaking into a lake house, according to police. The progressive mayor deflected by saying he hopes his arrest brings attention to "some of the inequities that have been happening."
At 6:52 a.m. on Saturday, a homeowner reportedly received a notification that someone had walked onto his property in South Fulton, Georgia. The trespasser allegedly walked up the man's driveway and toward the homeowner's lake house. The homeowner allegedly got dressed and called the police regarding an intruder inside his lake house.
WSB-TV reported, "Soon, the unknown person exited the lake house. The homeowner said in the report that he commanded the man to 'stay put.'"
The unnamed homeowner demanded that the intruder stay in place a second time while he was on the phone with the police dispatcher, according to the police report.
The trespasser reportedly lashed out, "Do you know who the f*** I am? I’m the mayor, and I’ll wait for my police to get here and see what happens then."
WAGA-TV reported, "Sources said that the property owner on Cascade Palmetto Highway held Kamau at gunpoint until cops arrived, but police have not confirmed that."
According to WSB-TV, "Kamau said in the report that he tried to introduce himself, but the homeowner cocked his weapon and said, 'If you take another step, I'm going to shoot you,' to which Kamau responded, 'Are you going to shoot me while I’m walking away?'"
Police arrived at the scene and identified the trespasser as Khalid Kamau – the mayor of South Fulton.
Kamau was arrested on Saturday morning. He was booked into Fulton County Jail on the charges of criminal trespass and first-degree burglary. His bond was set at $11,000.
Around 8 p.m. on Saturday, Mayor Kamau was released from jail.
While Kamau was incarcerated, Mayor Pro Tempore Natasha Williams-Brown served as temporary mayor.
Kamau told police he was on his way to the dog park when he went on the property, according to the report. He said that the property was his dream house and hoped to purchase it one day, according to police.
Kamau allegedly confessed to police that he was aware he was trespassing on the homeowner’s property.
While in handcuffs and being escorted by police into a cruiser, Kamau told WAGA-TV reporter Deidra Dukes, "I just wanted to see the house. I do apologize to the owners. I thought it was abandoned."
"I apologize for the negative attention that this is brought to our city," Kamau said. "I hope that the spotlight on our city right now will highlight some of the inequities that have been happening."
When asked if he was guilty of the charges, Kamau replied, "I think that's for the voters to decide."
The city of South Fulton issued a statement on the mayor's arrest: "The city of South Fulton is committed to upholding the law and ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their position, are subject to the same fair and just treatment. As the investigation is still ongoing, we are unable to provide further details at this time."
Kamau, who was elected as mayor in January 2022, has been a staunch supporter of Democratic socialism and the BLM movement.
In 2019, the far-left media outlet The Nation wrote a glowing profile on then-councilman Khalid Kamau:
Councilman Khalid started organizing when he was barely a teenager, and he has never stopped. He’s a leader of the metro Atlanta chapter of Democratic Socialists of America and a cofounder of the Atlanta chapter of Black Lives Matter, has been a labor organizer with the Amalgamated Transit Union, and is an ardent advocate of environmental justice and LGBTQ rights.
Kamau told the outlet that he wanted to transform South Fulton to "a real-life Wakanda."
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