Catherine Renken, a pastor at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Kenesaw, Ga., emailed Cheatham the day after the town hall to share why she was “outraged.”
“I have never been so scared of the police as [I] was last night. I left the event shaking,” Renken wrote. “The police present was over the top and intimidating. Their use of excessive force in tasing the two men who spoke in protest and only asked ‘not to be grabbed,’ was outrageous.”
Andrew Russell Nelms, 40, and Johnny Keith Williams, 45, were tased and arrested on two charges: simple battery of a law enforcement officer and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to a release from Acworth police.
Kiyana Davis, 28, was arrested on a city ordinance charge for "vulgar language," the release said.
The town hall was one of many held by Republican members of Congress to have attracted protest and controversy since Donald Trump returned to the White House, to pursue a program of aggressive cuts to federal government budgets and staffing.
Renken, who lives “right around the corner” from the police department and volunteers as a county police chaplain, said she personally experienced "aggression and incivility” from the police when she choked on water during the commotion, then tried to reenter the town hall after using the restroom.
Saying police “chose to use force,” rather than “deescalate,” Renken called on city leaders to “rectify the situation immediately with an apology and dropping all charges” against the three individuals.
“I pray a reasonable judge will throw this out in court, and I’m confident the city of Acworth will be at the losing end of a court case for this,” Renken wrote. “This is unconstitutional, an embarrassment to the city, and will literally cost us taxpayers.”
Essence Johnson, chair of the Cobb County Democratic Party, told Raw Story this month she was assisting “distraught” family members of the arrested individuals. As of Monday, Johnson said charges against all three remained, to her knowledge.
Renken also emailed Acworth Mayor Tommy Allegood, saying the event was “not a town hall, but a tool of MAGA manipulation.”
Reached by phone, Renken declined to comment further, because she was “already talking with the lawyer for one of the people who was arrested.”
Allegood replied to Renken on April 17, saying the police department has a “great reputation for keeping our citizens and business safe,” and Acworth is “recognized as one of the safest cities in Georgia.”
Allegood declined to answer questions from Raw Story, saying, “There is an ongoing investigation into the events of Congresswoman Greene’s town hall meeting and our city attorney does not want us to comment.”
Cheatham told Raw Story he was unable to speak about the town hall as “this case has not been adjudicated.”
Another emailer wrote Cheatham, accusing the police of using “excessive force on people who are afraid of what our government is doing [to] our country.”
“If you stand up for Marjorie Taylor Greene and her insane views. God help you,” the emailer wrote.
David C. Beall, a member of the Floyd County Republican Party, wrote Cheatham to “commend your officers for their conduct and actions taken to keep the attendees of this event, and Ms. Greene and her staff safe.” Beall attended the event, which he said was “infiltrated by numerous bad actors.”
“Your officers acted swiftly and professionally each time a disruptor caused an issue,” Beall wrote. “At no time did I feel unsafe or concerned about being inside the venue.”
Beall and the other emailer did not respond to requests for comment.
‘Looking for negative sentiment’
Acworth police anticipated disruptions at the town hall, according to crime reports and emails obtained by Raw Story.
“Prior to the event, officers were briefed on possible security threats, including death threats made to the congresswoman via social media and threats of bringing firearms to the event, which were discovered by Acworth Police Department Analyst Williams,” said the crime report for Nelms. “To ensure public safety, officers were advised to remove any disruptive behavior from the event area immediately.”
The crime report for Johnny Williams describes a physical struggle as he allegedly attempted to “choke another officer.”
The report noted, “All officers were briefed beforehand that any individuals causing a disturbance while Congresswoman Greene was speaking would be immediately escorted from the premises to maintain order and provide safety for the rest of those in Attendance.”
Planning emails from March 5 indicated an analyst, Macey Williams, would be “looking for negative sentiment and report any concerns.”
Emails explain that the event would require “a considerable amount of planning,” including closing the community center for the entire day.
“Our Special Ops Team will be providing security similar to [Sean] Hannity a few years ago,” wrote Kim Watt, director of the Acworth Parks, Recreation, and Community Resource Department, on March 5. “With that, they plan to bring a bomb dog through the entire center that morning to clear the building.”
Hannity of Fox News hosted a town hall in Acworth on Oct. 17, 2022, for then-Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who lost a runoff to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Russell Mines, Special Operations Division Lieutenant, confirmed the week before the Greene town hall that bomb sweeps would happen twice the day of the event.
On X on the morning of the town hall, Greene claimed "paid Democrat protestors" would be coming from throughout the country.
"I have one word of warning for you. If you’re planning to act up, scream and protest, you’re going to be thrown out, and that’s the way it goes," Greene said in a video posted to X on April 15.
After the town hall, Greene posted a video and statement voicing her "100% support of our heroic police officers" and said footage "proves the protestors were unruly and fighting and resisting police."
"These protestors were deranged and aggressive and lost control of themselves the second the town hall started," Greene posted.
Greene’s spokesperson, Nick Dyer, did not respond to a request for comment.
