Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has accused Georgia Governor Brian Kemp of using a recently filed lawsuit to silence her.
“In addition to being sued over a mask mandate and voluntary advisory guidelines on COVID-19, @GovKemp has asked for an emergency injunction to “restrain” me from issuing press statements and speaking to the press. Far more have sacrificed too much more for me to be silent,” Mayor Bottoms tweeted last week.
The tweet came just days after Kemp issued an executive order that banned cities and counties from ordering people to wear masks in public places.
During Sunday’s interview with “Face The Nation,” the mayor called Kemp’s actions “bizarre.”
“The governor has done many things as of late and said many things as of late that, quite frankly, are simply bizarre,” Bottoms said. “He filed a 124-plus-page lawsuit against me this week calling for an emergency injunction to stop me from speaking about his orders. If the governor of this state had his way, I would not be allowed to speak with you today. And so this blame game is most unusual.”
Kemp’s action voided orders on in at least 15 local governments across the state mandating that face coverings be worn in public.
It was only when Bottoms, a Black female in office, mandated masks be worn in Atlanta — that Kemp decided to sign the executive order and file a lawsuit.
“There were other cities in our state who instituted mask mandates, and he did not push back against them,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s because perhaps they were led by men or if it’s perhaps because of the demographic in the city of Atlanta. I don’t know what the answers are, but what I do know is that the science is on our side.”
