Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 12, 2026

On August 12, 1492 by the current calendar, Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos de la Frontera in southern Spain with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Other accounts date his arrival at the Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa on August 12, 1492.

Juan Ponce de Leon invaded Puerto Rico on August 12, 1508 and declared himself Governor.

On August 12, 1864, Confederate General John B. Hood prohibited Confederate soldiers from seizing civilian property.

The first Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line on August 12, 1908.

On August 12, 1908, Ford’s first “Model T” rolled off a Detroit, Michigan, factory floor. Within six years, the car, company and man were propelled to unprecedented success, thanks to the new Highland Park plant’s first-of-its-kind assembly line, which created the intricate product quickly and in large numbers.

“If it hadn’t been for Henry Ford’s drive to create a mass market for cars, America wouldn’t have a middle class today,” wrote [Lee] Iacocca.

Increased travel spurred appeals for better and more roads, the development of suburbs, the oil industry’s rise and a boom in gas stations, strip malls and motels.

But the assembly line itself had the biggest impact on American society, Hyde contended, in making possible the swift, mass production of everything from computers to “fast food.”

On August 12, 1910, Georgia Governor Joseph M. Brown signed legislation prohibiting the carrying of a pistol or revolver without a license.

East Germany began building the Berlin Wall on August 12, 1961.

[T]he government of East Germany, on the night of August 12, 1961, began to seal off all points of entrance into West Berlin from East Berlin by stringing barbed wire and posting sentries. In the days and weeks to come, construction of a concrete block wall began, complete with sentry towers and minefields around it. The Berlin Wall succeeded in completely sealing off the two sections of Berlin.

Three churches in Albany, Georgia first allowed African-Americans to attend their services on August 12, 1962.

On August 12, 1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the first time.

President Jimmy Carter was nominated for reelection as President by the Democratic National Convention in New York City on August 13, 1980.

President Ronald Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act on August 13, 1981.

The ERTA included a 25 percent reduction in marginal tax rates for individuals, phased in over three years, and indexed for inflation from that point on. The marginal tax rate, or the tax rate on the last dollar earned, was considered more important to economic activity than the average tax rate (total tax paid as a percentage of income earned), as it affected income earned through “extra” activities such as education, entrepreneurship or investment. Reducing marginal tax rates, the theory went, would help the economy grow faster through such extra efforts by individuals and businesses. The 1981 act, combined with another major tax reform act in 1986, cut marginal tax rates on high-income taxpayers from 70 percent to around 30 percent, and would be the defining economic legacy of Reagan’s presidency.

Reagan’s tax cuts were designed to put maximum emphasis on encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship and creating incentives for the development of venture capital and greater investment in human capital through training and education. The cuts particularly benefited “idea” industries such as software or financial services; fittingly, Reagan’s first term saw the advent of the information revolution, including IBM’s introduction of its first personal computer (PC) and the rise or launch of such tech companies as Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Compaq and Cisco Systems.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High was released on August 13, 1982.

Savannah hosted a reading of the Declaration of Independence, as was done on August 11, 1776, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Archibald Bulloch was not standing on the sidelines of history in the summer of 1776. He was out making it, as Coastal Heritage Society CEO Nora Lee tells it.

A specific example of his making history was on Aug. 10 that year when he read the Declaration of Independence aloud in Savannah for the first time. He chose the city’s Johnson Square as his place of reading.

Now 250 years later Savannah commemorated that history Monday with a reenactment of the moment. Over 100 people, including historians, local elected officials and Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts eighth-graders, gathered to hear the declaration as if from Bulloch himself.

“Imagine this square on that day. Imagine a crowd gathering like today,” Lee said. “This was the first time they would hear the words declaring that these colonies were no longer subjects of the king, but were instead claiming the right to govern themselves.”

The event was led by the Savannah US250 Commission.

“We stand here being the recipient of 250 years of struggle and strife, all founded upon an idea that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was an opportunity for all,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Brian Johnson was sworn in as Mayor of Cohutta, according to the Dalton Citizen.

The Town of Cohutta has its third official mayor in history following the appointment of resident Brian Johnson, who was sworn into the position Tuesday evening at the Cohutta Town Council’s August meeting.

Johnson, who moved to Cohutta alongside his wife Cindy just over five years ago, was part of an application pool of seven Cohutta residents who took part in a month-long interview process throughout July.

Interim Mayor Sandy Clayborne, alongside council members Shane Kornberg, Andy Lopez and Randy Stanton, unanimously voted to appoint Johnson as the town’s next mayor at the conclusion of the process leading into Tuesday’s meeting.

As Johnson began his first evening as mayor, Clayborne will move back into the vice mayor role in which she was appointed to by fellow council members in May.

“What drew us to Cohutta was that it is a welcoming, warm, endearing, family-oriented, growing place to live,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We fell in love the first time we drove through. I spent 20 years in the Navy…and my last job was as a commanding officer for a distribution center in Japan. I retired from there and worked in corporate America for about nine years.”

Johnson said he has a background in finance and budgeting, which he believes will be crucial in his new role as mayor.

Burke County interim Sheriff Brad Capitosti released a statement on social media, according to the Savannah Morning News.

New Burke County Sheriff Brad Capitosti issued a statement via social media on Tuesday about his new position in the wake of Gov. Brian Kemp suspending former sheriff Alfonzo Williams following a criminal indictment.

“I am humbled by the trust that has been placed in me, and I am excited about what we can accomplish together as we begin this new chapter,” Capitosti said in his statement posted to the sheriff’s office Facebook page. He was appointed to the role by the Burke County Board of Commissioners.

“As with any transition, there will be change,” said Capitosti. “I believe change, when guided by the right intentions and a belief in doing what is best for the people we serve, can make us stronger.”

Kemp on Monday suspended [Sheriff Alonzo] Williams after a state review commission determined that his recent federal indictment adversely affects the administration of the sheriff’s office and the public interest.

Williams was indicted July 9. He faces five counts of extortion under the color of official right and one count of transfer of a firearm to a convicted felon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, based in Savannah.

But the new Sheriff’s law enforcement certifications are not active, according to WRDW.

Freshly sworn-in Burke County Acting Sheriff Brad “Cap” Capitosti does not currently hold an active basic law enforcement certification in the state of Georgia, according to state records obtained by News 12.

The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records show Capitosti’s basic law enforcement certification status is listed as “Lapsed due to training deficiency.” While his jailer certification is currently active, his overall profile is flagged as “File Review Required.”

The revelation comes just one day after the Burke County Board of Commissioners met in an emergency session on Monday afternoon to appoint Capitosti to the role.

The lapsed status shouldn’t raise eyebrow. State law and training protocols explicitly accommodate uncertified individuals taking command of a sheriff’s office.

Burke County Chief Deputy Lee Webster resigned, according to WJBF.

In his resignation letter, sent Tuesday morning, Webster states:

“In selection by and in recognition of my prior service to the duly sworn and constitutionally elected Sheriff of Burke County Georgia, Alfonzo Williams, I find it necessary that I shall resign from that employment effective immediately. I have enjoyed serving in the capacity of Deputy, Sargeant, Investigator, and Chief Deputy over my 9+ years of service; THANK YOU, Sheriff Williams for an EXCELLENT experience and opportunity!!! GOD SAVE THE SOVEREIGN PEOPLE OF BURKE COUNTY, GEORGIA!!!”

MANY THANKS!!!
Colonel Lee Webster
Chief Deputy

Former Columbus mayoral candidate Zeph Baker pled guilty to charges related to domestic violence, according to WTVM.

Former Columbus mayoral candidate, pastor, and politician Zeph Baker pleaded guilty Monday to felony kidnapping and family violence battery stemming from a 2023 incident involving his then-girlfriend, Lacai Williams.

Baker was sentenced to five years of probation. Several charges, including aggravated assault and cruelty to children, were dropped as part of the plea. He was also ordered to have no contact with Williams or their daughter, who is now 7 years old.

Muscogee County deputies arrested Baker in April 2023 on active Cobb County warrants. Monday’s guilty plea came three years after that arrest.

Former Polk County Police Department Officer Tracey Royston was arrested and charged with misuse of Flock cameras, according to WRGA News.

The GBI has arrested and charged former Polk County Police Department Officer Tracey Royston, age 51, of Cedartown, Georgia, with four misdemeanor counts of Misuse of a License Plate Reader System. Royston was previously detached to the Northwest Georgia Drug Task Force, which is managed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

On July 31, 2026, the Polk County Police Department requested the GBI to investigate allegations of misuse of the Cedartown Police Department (CPD) Flock Safety System. Due to her status as a task force agent, Royston had access to the CPD Flock Safety System. Preliminary information indicates that Royston accessed the Flock system multiple times between 2024 and 2025 for non-law enforcement purposes.

Royston was arrested on August 7, 2026, and booked into the Polk County Jail.

Once the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

The City of Lula will hold a public hearing to address a qualifications challenge to a candidate in a Special Election, according to AccessWDUN.

Following Chris Lewallen’s resignation from the Lula City Council in May of this year, a special election will be held to fill the District 3 vacancy.

Lewallen verbally resigned May 18, and a special election will be held Nov. 3 to fill out the rest of his term through December of 2029.

[Felton] Wood is the person being challenged.

Joseph Johnson, a concerned citizen, filed the challenge against Wood. His reasoning? He says Wood has two felony convictions for burglary out of Morgan and Henry Counties from 1991.

“What concerns me is that there aren’t background checks on candidates,” Johnson told Access North Georgia. Johnson cited the Georgia Constitution, which cites a person can not hold office if they have been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude, unless their civil rights have been restored and 10 years have elapsed since the completion of their sentence.

The issue at hand will be whether Wood’s civil rights have been restored.

Governor Brian Kemp appointed Brian Epps to the Georgia Court of Appeals, according to the AJC.

Epps, 53, was sworn in Tuesday as the latest judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp, he fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Brian Rickman, who returned to private practice last month.

Epps told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he hasn’t had one bad day as a federal magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia since his appointment in June 2013. But he said he’s not prepared to stay in the same job just for comfort’s sake, even if it’s perfect.

“I like new challenges and doing new things,” he said. “I think that it’s my duty to look at the world around me and my strengths and weaknesses and ask myself fairly often, ‘How can I, before I leave this earth, make the biggest impact that I can make in a positive way?’ I felt like being on the (Georgia) Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals would allow me to make a larger contribution.”

Kemp said at the investiture ceremony that Epps is “a leader, both in the courtroom but also in his community.” Dozens of past and present Georgia judges, lawyers and elected officials gathered inside the State Capitol for the occasion.

“Judge Epps has shown that he has the integrity, judgment and expertise worthy of this position on the Court of Appeals,” the governor said. “Those are traits I always look for when considering these type of appointments, because the cases that come before these judges grow in importance and impact every year.”

The Court of Appeals is the state’s intermediate appellate court, comprising 15 judges. They decide many of the complex civil issues in the state, as well as some criminal matters, often setting legal precedent.

Republican candidate for Governor Rick Jackson rolled out a policy proposal aimed at reinvigorating some neighborhoods, according to WRDW.

Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson is pitching a statewide economic proposal that singles out Augusta’s historic Golden Blocks as one of Georgia’s key Black business corridors in need of new investment.

Rick Jackson — who is locked in a tight, nationally watched gubernatorial race against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms — announced his “Legacy Corridor Initiative” on Wednesday at Selena S. Butler Park in southeast Atlanta.

For Augusta, that focus would fall on the Golden Blocks, rooted in the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods just south of downtown.

During segregation, as federal housing and lending policies made it difficult for Black families to get mortgages in many areas and Jim Crow laws allowed many white-owned businesses to turn away Black customers, Black Augustans built a business community of their own.

Many of the businesses that defined that era are gone, and parts of the Golden Blocks today show the same signs of disinvestment that mark other historic districts: vacant storefronts, aging buildings and uneven development pressure.

“We want to make it easier for Georgia businesses to bid, subcontract, and compete for state work,” Jackson said, while also emphasizing plans to heavily promote the State Opportunity Zone Tax Credit.

At the center of the proposal is a new state coordinator who would oversee Georgia’s 17 Small Business Development Centers. Jackson says that position would be responsible for helping entrepreneurs move more easily through licensing and permitting, connect with financing options and better compete for state contracts. He also wants the state to lean harder on the existing Opportunity Zone Tax Credit, promoting it as a way to steer private money into neglected corridors.

A pillar of Jackson’s pitch is a pledge to restore historic commercial buildings without pricing out current residents and business owners.

Key details of Jackson’s initiative have not yet been released, including a total price tag, how money would be divided among the six corridors and exactly how existing businesses and property owners in the Golden Blocks would be able to apply for help.

From the AJC:

Jackson is set to unveil an economic plan Wednesday morning in downtown Atlanta aimed at restoring historic Black business districts and expanding opportunities for minority-owned businesses.

“Being the number one state for business means nothing if it does not apply to all of our businesses, in all of our neighborhoods,” he said.

The rollout offers a softer side of some of the harder-edged GOP proposals. Over the weekend, Jackson’s promise to protect “the least of these” contrasted with his calls to ban Sharia law and broaden the death penalty.

His proposal calls for a “navigator” in each corridor to help connect businesses with government resources, leverage existing tax credits and promote a state tax credit for job-creating businesses.

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg endorsed Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms for Governor of Georgia, according to the AJC.

“Georgia is such a dynamic state, and I think it’s only going to become more politically important largely because Democrats keep winning there,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“This is a purple state trending blue, but only if we do the work. Obviously, I want to be part of the solution there and lend my hand to doing the work.”

It’s a race Buttigieg said not only tests whether Democrats can capture Georgia’s top office for the first time in nearly 30 years, but also gauges whether the party’s economic message is winning over middle-of-the-road voters.

“A lot of people who have a habit of voting Republican are giving us a hearing for the first time in a long time because they’re seeing that so many of the promises that were made to them just aren’t coming true,” he said.

There are plenty of reasons why a potential presidential contender should focus now on Georgia and its 16 electoral votes.

Trump carried Georgia by 5 percentage points in 2016, when neither campaign treated the state as a battleground. Four years later, Joe Biden narrowly flipped it, and Ossoff and Raphael Warnock followed with U.S. Senate runoff victories.

Trump put Georgia back in the Republican column in 2024. But Democrats captured two Public Service Commission races a year later, their first victories in nonfederal statewide contests in nearly two decades.

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) campaigned for U.S. Senate in Chatham County, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Collins held a meet-and-greet event at The Landings Golf and Athletic Club on Skidaway Island, one of Chatham County’s Republican strongholds. The Republican said the race’s two candidates are “polar opposites.”

“This race is easy. This is common sense versus communism crazy,” Collins said.

The event featured Collins meeting supporters, delivering a 20-minute stump speech and taking questions from multiple attendees. Roughly 60 people attended the meet and greet, held inside a conference room at The Palmetto Clubhouse.

“He showed you what the Republican Party is,” Suddath said, adding he thinks Collins will unite the party against Ossoff in November.

The local meet and greet was the latest example of Chatham County receiving attention from the Senate candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election. Ossoff held a rally in Savannah in June alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. There, Ossoff criticized rising costs across the U.S. economy, particularly in healthcare, while tying those issues to President Donald Trump and Collins, according to reporting by the Savannah Morning News.

Collins aimed to paint Ossoff as a far-left candidate, lodging criticisms of Ossoff blocking federal bills banning transgender students from participating in women’s sports. He also criticized Ossoff’s recent support of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, saying the endorsement “ought to send out alarm bells all across this state.”

Collins also expressed his support for Georgia’s Ports and work to obtain funding for dredging of Brunswick’s shipping channel. Collins is chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, which oversees U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding for projects such as dredging.

“(The ports) are vitally important not just for this area, but for the state and country,” Collins said.

Rep. Collins also campaigned in Augusta, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

In a small Augusta venue, more than 80 Republicans made as much noise as they could for Mike Collins.

The U.S. House representative was at the Snelling Center campaigning to replace U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, whom he criticized in a variety of ways, such as describing how much makeup the senator wears and implying he’s just like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“I think we need to have more business folks up there (in Washington, D.C.) and we don’t need anymore from a trust fund kid that’s never had a job in his life,” Collins said.

“We’ve got to continue to fight waste, fraud, and abuse up there. We need to hold people accountable,” he said. “We’ve got healthcare issues out there. We need more transparency in our healthcare. Our insurance companies are making a boatload, and your insurance (like mine) is going up.”

Collins answered a few questions after his speech, one of them concerning the controversial data centers coming to Georgia as well as the rest of the country.

“At the end of the day, it should be a local decision,” Collins said. “Do we need data centers? We sure do; we’re in a race for AI against China. But if it’s going to hurt local infrastructure, then those people don’t deserve for that to happen.”

Collins also had multiple politicians campaigning for him, with the biggest possibly being U.S. Rep. Rick Allen.

“I don’t have a go-to senator in Georgia,” Allen said. “I believe every election is the most important election, but this one is important for a lot of reasons. … We have enemies right here in this country. They’re running for Congress. They’re running for the Senate. I can’t tell you how many judges are out there that; they don’t rule by the law; they run based on their personal beliefs.”

Collins and Ossoff will debate live on Gray TV channels across Georgia at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7.

The State House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Community Health and Healthcare Oversight meets today in Augusta, according to WRDW via WLAB.

A special Georgia House study committee is coming to Augusta to take a hard look at the state’s healthcare system.

The House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Community Health and Healthcare Oversight will meet Wednesday, starting at 9 a.m. at the Jaguar Student Activities Center on Augusta University’s Summerville Campus.

Chairman Mark Newton of Augusta will lead the hearing.

Lawmakers plan to hear from hospitals, doctors, EMS leaders and other stakeholders on two big issues:

• How to recruit and keep the next generation of physicians in Georgia
• How to strengthen emergency medical services in every county, including state-level policies and oversight.

The committee’s broader goal is to evaluate Georgia’s health care landscape, look for ways to improve access to care, boost patient protections and find practical policy solutions to improve outcomes and accountability across the state.

Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission members toured a cultivation facility, according to 13WMAZ.

Georgia’s medical cannabis program is entering a new phase of rapid expansion, with state regulators touring Fine Fettle’s Macon cultivation and production facility Monday as patient enrollment and product demand surge following a major change in state law.

Members of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, the state’s cannabis regulatory agency, visited the Fine Fettle site on Monday, Aug. 10, getting what officials described as critical “boots-on-the-ground” training inside one of Georgia’s licensed cultivation and manufacturing operations.

The Macon facility, which has operated for about two years, is now growing, producing and packaging flower and vape products — new treatment options authorized under Senate Bill 220, also known as the Putting Patients First Act, that became available July 1.

“We worked for two and a half years to get this law passed,” said Judson Hill, Georgia market president for Fine Fettle, during an interview at the facility. “It went into effect on July 1, and the patients have been extremely pleased since then.”

Hill said the impact of the new law has been immediate and measurable.

Since July 1, he said, Georgia’s medical cannabis patient registry has grown by about 10,000 patients in six weeks, reflecting pent-up demand for products that provide faster relief than previously allowed low-THC oil.

The patient registry grew from 36,595 patients in late June to 44,854 on Monday, an increase of more than 22 percent in just over a month.

“We’ve been able to provide flower and vape, which are the most effective products in terms of immediately helping patients deal with their conditions,” Hill said. “It kicks in in about 30 seconds versus waiting an hour or so, like oil-based products.”

Hill said Fine Fettle’s Macon facility currently has about 10 grow rooms, with only two or three in full use, yet is able to produce enough flower for the existing market. The operation is designed to scale as the program grows.

“We can really grow until there’s about 500,000 patients in the program with this facility,” Hill said. “Currently, there’s 45,000. So, with that, we could probably go up 10 times what we’re currently producing.”

Since the law change, Hill said Fine Fettle has seen “a line around our doors” largely from existing cardholders who were waiting for broader product options.

Previously, state law required cannabis to be processed into oil products. Now, patients can legally purchase regulated flower and vape products that are vaporized rather than smoked.

While Fine Fettle has been part of the Macon business community through its cultivation and production operations, the company is preparing to open its first dispensary in Macon this fall, which will serve as its initial patient-facing location in the city.

Hill said the new dispensary will expand access to medical cannabis across Middle Georgia, complementing the production work done at the industrial facility on Joe Tamplin Industrial Boulevard.

“Right now, we’re pretty good on the legislative front,” Hill said when asked about next policy goals. “Now it’s really just about getting the word out to the people of Georgia that medical cannabis is an option, and the more patients that we’re able to service, we’re really focused on opening up new dispensaries so that we can service different parts of the state, with a new one coming on here in Macon in October.”

Andrew Turnage, executive director of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, said the Macon visit was designed to give new staff members a firsthand look at the industry they oversee.

“We’re here today with staff. We have new staff at the agency that have not been to a facility before, and always want to give them the opportunity to get boots-on-the-ground experience to see what the licensees that we regulate do,” Turnage said. “For many of them, it’s always eye-opening to walk into the production facility… and just see the scale and the scope and the size of the operation.”

Turnage, who has led the commission for six years, described Georgia as both relatively new to cannabis regulation and part of a broader national shift.

Georgia was the 37th state to begin regulating cannabis and the 41st to establish what Turnage called a “comprehensive marketplace” — one that offers a range of products with varying THC levels for registered patients.

“The simple truth is, until a state begins to have operations just like this, unless you come from another state, there is no background,” Turnage said. “It’s been federally unlawful now for all of our lifetimes.”

Turnage said the commission’s daily work is driven by a single priority: expanding safe, reliable access to medical cannabis for eligible Georgians.

“Every single day, what we do at the commission is absolutely driven by working hard to help patients get better access, safer access, increased or expanded access,” he said. “Ultimately, the work that we do is absolutely focused on regulating the plants, regulating the process, regulating those products that are manufactured… so that patients can rely on that as safe medicine.”

Turnage said the Putting Patients First Act marked a turning point for the program, expanding product offerings and opening the door for more patients to seek relief.

“We had a very small and much more restrictive marketplace than we do now,” he said. “Our work now is to get the agency and the state and all of our licensees aligned with the passage of that law. That’s our goal every day, and we’re really excited about some of the changes that are underway.”

As Georgia’s program continues to grow, Hill said Fine Fettle’s Macon facility is positioned to help meet rising demand — and to ensure that more patients across the state can access regulated medical cannabis close to home.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta) wants to prohibit ICE from using TSA data, according to Atlanta News First via WTVM.

In a bill called “No TSA Data for ICE Act,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, GA-05, wants to prevent the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from sharing passenger information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which gives the Department of Homeland Security the ability to check immigration status.

Two dozen lawmakers are sponsoring the bill, aimed at stopping the data sharing between the two federal agencies.

The bill would also prevent the Department of Homeland Security from denying, suspending or terminating a passenger’s Trusted Travelers Programs (TTP) status, such as TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, for participating in their First Amendment rights like filming ICE activity.

In a statement, Congresswoman Williams said:

“Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, is the gateway to the world. That’s only possible when every traveler has confidence in our aviation system. The TSA should play no part in Trump’s and ICE’s terror campaign. It’s exploitative, dangerous, and a violation of people’s privacy. I’m proud to co-sponsor Rep. Tlaib’s No TSA Data for ICE Act to help protect people’s privacy, restore accountability, and ensure our government agencies are focused on keeping travelers safe—not serving as tools for ICE.”

“But what the point of it is, say: Look, there’s an issue here that we should be looking at. We have an executive branch of the government that is going far beyond what Congress intended in its enforcement of immigration law,” said Charles Kuck, immigration attorney and Emory University School of Law adjunct professor.

This proposed bill comes as ICE agents allegedly wrongfully detained an American citizen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Rincon City Council will host public meetings to discuss their proposed property tax increase, according to WTOC.

The city tentatively adopted a millage rate resulting in a 100% increase in property taxes for the upcoming tax year.

The tentative millage rate increase would create a new rate of 2.323 mills, an increase of 2.323 mills over the current rate of 0.00 mills.

Citizens can attend a series of hearings to discuss the proposed change. The first is Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rincon Police Department and Council Chambers, located at 107 West 17th Street.

Two additional hearings will be held at the same location on Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m. and Aug. 24 at 6:30 p.m.