A man who is trying to oust Sheriff John Q. Williams and District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez from office was escorted out of a town hall meeting on public safety Wednesday night after interrupting the speakers and going on a rant about child molesters, ICE and “Obama policies.”
About half an hour into the event—hosted by Gonzalez, Williams and Police Chief Jerry Saulters—James DePaola interjected that the meeting was sparsely attended because the public “has lost faith in [elected officials].”
The moderator told DePaola he would have an opportunity to speak later. Then an Athens-Clarke County Library security guard asked him to leave. “I have broken no law, and you are the criminals here,” he said.
Saulters approached and whispered to DePaola urging him to leave peacefully. He and other law enforcement officials told DePaola he was violating a law against criminal trespass because a library official told him to leave. Eventually, several sheriff’s deputies walked DePaola out.
After an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela was charged with the murder of Athens nursing student Laken Riley in February, DePaola was among a handful of people who heckled Mayor Kelly Girtz at a press conference, and called on him and others to resign, claiming falsely that Athens is a “sanctuary city.” He later started a petition to recall Girtz, Williams, Gonzalez and Commissioner Melissa Link, although Athens-Clarke County election officials ruled he couldn’t try to recall Link because he doesn’t live in her district.
Although the recall is unlikely to succeed because it would require gathering about 10,000 signatures to even put it on the ballot, Girtz recently filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the effort on the grounds that DePaola didn’t give any proper legal reasons for initiating the petition, and that local elections officials erred in approving it.
Under the name James Lee, DePaola appeared on Fox News, where he called Girtz a “left-wing nutjob” and threatened the mayor with a black eye, to the approval of primetime host Jesse Waters. Days later, he was back on Fox News standing with local pizzeria owner Sidney Waters as she announced her campaign for Commission District 8.
Wednesday’s events weren’t DePaola’s first brush with the law. In 2016 he was arrested after a dispute with his wife over how much cheese she put on his grilled cheese sandwich.
Threats and violence have been all too common at public meetings since Riley’s murder. Earlier this month Camden Pace, a local resident who claims to a rabbi of a Jewish sect that believes Jesus is the messiah, was arrested for resisting a police officer’s attempt to remove him from the podium because he tore up an audience member’s pro-Palestine sign and continued to speak after his allotted time expired. Pace, who has served time for bank robbery, called Girtz a “Satan-worshipping, Communist, child-trafficking Democrat.”
Previously, the Clarke County Republican Party invited Pace to give an invocation, in which he prayed for a Donald Trump victory in November. Instead of condemning Pace for his comments and for resisting arrest, the Athens GOP reposted video of his prayer on social media after the incident at City Hall.
Pace also attended Wednesday’s town hall meeting, but merely asked Saulters to review a police report he filed in which he alleged that he was assaulted by anti-Semites while preaching downtown.
Another conservative activist, Joseph Wargo, a staffer for Charlie Kirk’s right-wing campus group Turning Point USA, was removed from a March commission meeting when he burst through the City Hall chamber’s doors shouting while the commission was conducting business. Prior to that meeting, two dueling rallies were held outside City Hall in response to Riley’s murder.
In addition, a group of leftist young people has been attending meetings to demand, sometimes in belligerent language, that the commission approve a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Last month they marched on Girtz’s home, to the disapproval of more mainstream Democrats and even some who agree with their cause.
Although it was overshadowed by DePaola’s outburst, Saulters broke news that for the first time in recent memory, ACCPD has no vacancies among sworn officers. At this time last year, the department’s staffing was down by 45 or 50 officers among 260 funded positions, according to Saulters.
Contrary to some conservatives’ belief that ACC “defunded the police,” over the past several years, the county commission has approved significant pay raises for law enforcement officers, as well as signing bonuses, new equipment and perks like take-home cars, in an effort to boost recruitment.
Saulters also said that deaths from fentanyl overdoses are down from 24 this time last year to six so far this year. The synthetic opioid killed more than 60 Athens residents in 2023, he said.
The police chief also addressed concerns about crime in the wake of a few high-profile murders, like Riley’s and the death of a 3-year-old in a gang-related drive-by shooting.
“They’re getting quite a lot of publicity, so people say Athens is not safe,” Saulters said. “Athens is a safe community. The challenge we have is a fear of crime.”
Shootings are down 1% so far in 2024, he said, after falling almost 7% in 2023.
Staffing shortages are still plaguing the sheriff’s department, said Williams, whose deputies make less money than police—something he has been vocal about trying to change.
Williams also discussed the challenges facing jail staff, such as mental health issues among inmates, which he said are a leading cause of violence and recidivism.
“Unfortunately, society has moved away from people having a place they can go and get consistent treatment when they have mental health issues,” he said.
He noted that most of the people in the local jail are awaiting trial and haven’t been convicted, and those who have been convicted are generally serving sentences of less than two years, in contrast to state prisons where serious offenders serve time. “So we do have to have to treat everybody with dignity and respect,” he said.
Gonzalez stressed the importance of accountability courts for people dealing with addiction or mental health problems, and for veterans, who often suffer from both.
Some conservatives have stated that Athens should cut services because they draw such people to the city, which Gonzalez pushed back on, suggesting that surrounding counties pay their fair share instead.
“Because we have these options,” she said, referring to accountability courts, hospitals, recovery groups and other nonprofits, “Athens is seen as kind of a hub for 15 counties around us.”
“Any city that cares and has shown it wants to care for people, that’s what it is” to be a hub, Williams added.
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