Georgia Democratic Party official files libel suit against political bloggers
3:24 pm, May 4th, 2012
Democratic Party of Georgia political director Rashad Richey has filed a libel suit against the webmasters of two political websites, claiming he has been labeled a repeat criminal offender and subjected to a concerted effort to force him out of his job.
Richey’s suit says online postings by Andre Walker, webmaster for Georgia Politics Unfiltered, and re-posting of those entries by Melanie Goux, who oversees the Blog for Democracy website, have falsely asserted that he is a “recidivist,” and that Walker’s multiple postings detailing Richey’s brushes with the law, coupled with assertions that he is a “criminal” and “jailbird” constitute slander, libel and defamation.
The suit, filed yesterday in Fulton County Superior Court, also names former DPG official Jane Bradshaw as a defendant, accusing he of emailing the stories around and organizing meetings to discuss them.
Since last month, Walker has posted several online stories detailing Richey’s arrests on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and simple battery, and his court-ordered child-support payments.
The suit, filed by Bell & Washington partner Quinton Washington and Mabra Firm attorney Reginald Lewis, includes alleged quotes from Walker’s website lampooning Richey as “Rashad Richey the Recidivist on the Democratic payroll,” and a “criminal” who “has a history of making poor personal decisions.”
“The direct intention of [the postings] was to cause Plaintiff to be fired from his job and to injure him personally and professionally,” it says.
There was no immediate response to message emailed to both blogs or to a phone message left for Bradshaw.




