Local politics can get messy. Sometimes that’s literal. Abbey Winters, the wife of Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Jason Winters in Georgia, dumped some soda on the head of an AllOnGeorgia reporter Casie Bryant, police said. The incident itself apparently wasn’t captured on video, but there was a recording running at the time, according to the outlet. You can see it above.
“Oh, that’s classy,” said a woman in the room.
Tensions inevitably ensued.
“She brought it on herself,” said a another woman.
“Nobody brings that on themselves,” said the first voice.
Bryant’s hair, clothes, possessions, and equipment were soaked, according to a Summerville police incident report obtained by the outlet. You can see the aftermath below:
The wife of Chattooga County’s sole commissioner poured a soda on a reporter’s head this morning. The Summerville PD is charging Abbey Winters with simple battery and disorderly conduct. The reporter is Casie Bryant of All On Georgia. Photos courtesy of the Summerville News pic.twitter.com/V3pz6UbWY8
— Patrick Filbin (@PatrickFilbin) December 13, 2019
Winters was booked into the Chattooga County Jail on Friday for disorderly conduct and simple battery, and bonded out on a total of $1520 bond, according to WZQZ. An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
Winters allegedly dumped the soda on Bryant’s head on purpose, witnesses said according to police. This was right before a public county budget meeting was about to start. Several bystanders claimed that the defendant said something to the effect that Bryant “deserved it,” police said.
Winters and her husband said they would only speak to police after discussing the matter with their attorney. Once they did, the defendant allegedly insisted it was an accident: she only dumped the soda on Bryant’s head after tripping.
Chattooga High teacher Paula Arden, who was at the meeting, told News Channel 9 that she thought the incident might have happened because Bryant fielded a request on Facebook to investigate the commissioner allegedly misusing funds. The allegation about the funds reportedly has not been substantiated.
[Screengrab via AllOnGeorgia]
