Republican Senator from Georgia David Perdue may not be up for reelection this year, but that hasn't relieved him of pressure from his constituents. His way of dealing with that pressure is telling.
Earlier this month, Perdue snatched a Georgia Tech student's phone after the student attempted to ask Perdue why he's supporting Georgia's Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who's facing a lawsuit for purging thousands of voter rolls in majority-black communities who likely would vote for his opponent, Stacey Abrams.
Now, it looks like Perdue will face a lawsuit of his own.
Can someone get @sendavidperdue a safe space? 🤣 "Student tried asking a simple question about @BrianKempGA's racis… https://t.co/xCXfsVBqij— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@Holly Figueroa O'Reilly) 1539631631.0
The law firm Dreyer Sterling LLC, founded by Democratic State Representative David Dreyer and Atlanta candidate for Mayor Michael Sterling, filed a civil battery complaint against Perdue on the student's behalf.
In announcing the complaint, attorneys said Perdue
"ripped [a] phone out of a student's hands as the student attempted to ask a question about voter rights."
Now, Americans on Twitter are loving the move toward justice, with many calling Perdue a bully.
@lawcrimenews @MiddleAmericaMS Good! @sendavidperdue is not above the law, even if he conducts himself as such. #bully— mary (@mary) 1540229218.0
@bluestein Good for him. @sendavidperdue is a bully who NEVER meets with his constituents! Always calling others ag… https://t.co/M2NFK7vV7D— BestIsYetToCome (@BestIsYetToCome) 1540177574.0
@bluestein Bullies need to be held accountable, no matter who they are. @sendavidperdue— Mary 🌊 (@Mary 🌊) 1540176938.0
@bulldoghill Love it!!— TurnNCBlue #WhitePeopleAgainstRacism (@TurnNCBlue #WhitePeopleAgainstRacism) 1540230597.0
The defense Perdue's team is offering doesn't seem reliable either.
Though the video shows the Georgia Tech student asking his question, with Perdue responding "I'm not doing that," before snatching the student's phone, representatives for Perdue say that the Senator thought the student was attempting to take a picture.
Spokespeople said:
"[senator Perdue] clearly thought he was being asked to take a picture and he went to take a selfie as he often does."
But that's not exactly clear. Even though the Senator eventually says, "You want a picture?," the statement doesn't explain why he said "I'm not doing that" before.
@sendavidperdue @POTUS @SecPompeo @SenThomTillis Now Perdue is trying to cover himself by telling a lame lie. He s… https://t.co/tP82SBBwW8— llovlyldy (@llovlyldy) 1539626894.0
Senator tells a blatant lie about grabbing a student’s phone. Are we ok with that? https://t.co/Xg8aXrea22— Jenn💕 (@Jenn💕) 1539606619.0
The development also has many questioning what the senator's punishment should be if he's found guilty.
@bulldoghill I hope he gets enough compensation to pay all his student loans off!— Douglas Rosebrock (@Douglas Rosebrock) 1540231227.0
@TPM Lock him up!— James Moody (@James Moody) 1540230175.0
It's unclear what the punishment or even the results of the suit will be, but we can be sure that Senator Perdue will think twice before getting aggressive with his constituents again.