Georgia lawmaker who knocked on governor's door during election bill signing won't be prosecuted
The Georgia lawmaker who was arrested for knocking on the door while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a sweeping election bill won't be prosecuted, the district attorney announced Wednesday.
Democrat Park Cannon was escorted out of the statehouse last month after she repeatedly knocked on the door of Kemp's office as he held a private livestream of the bill signing, which added new voting requirements for Georgia residents following the results of the 2020 election that flipped the traditionally red state to blue.
Cannon argued that the public and other members of the General Assembly should be allowed to witness the event. Video showing Cannon as she was escorted out of the statehouse went viral, and she faced charges of obstructing law enforcement and disrupting a general assembly session.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced Wednesday that Cannon would not be prosecuted.
Interviews from multiple citizen witnesses and Capitol police, video evidence and police reports were reviewed before Willis decided to "close this matter," according to a statement. The case will not be presented in front of a grand jury, Willis said.
"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," the statement said.
After the incident, Cannon's attorney, Gerald Griggs, said she was "shaken but resolved" and that she was arrested in an area where state lawmakers normally have access to.
"It reminds us of the 50s and the 60s in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia and South Carolina," 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."
ABC News' Alex Mallin and Briana Stewart contributed to this report.
