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Pettiness reached new heights for one Washington County, Georgia sheriff, and now he’s experiencing the consequences. The officer in question is named Corey King and he tried to retaliate against his ex-wife when she posted something he didn’t like on Facebook. Now his moves have backfired and he’s in the midst of legal trouble.

It all started in January 2015 when Anne King posted a Facebook status that read, “That moment when everyone in your house has the flu and you ask your kid’s dad to get them (not me) more Motrin and Tylenol and he refuses [overwhelmed emoji face].”

 

A few of Anne’s friends chimed in on her post, including Susan Hines, who said, “Give me an hour and check your mailbox. I’ll be GLAD to pick up the slack.”

 

Then, according to the lawsuit, Corey saw his ex’s post and asked her to take it down. When she refused, he posted a screenshot on his own Facebook. Then he filed an incident report and requested an arrest warrant because of Anne’s derogatory statements.

 

The next day, a Washington County court issued the warrants, not just for Anne’s arrest, but for her friend Susan’s arrest as well. The two were charged with “criminal defamation of character” and they spent four hours in jail before posting $1,000 bail.

 

Eventually, the state judge dropped the case, according to the complaint, saying “I don’t even know why we’re here.”

 

Fast forward and now Anne is suing Corey and Washington County. The case has gone to federal court since the county has immunity under the 11th Amendment.

One argument that Anne is using for her case is Corey relied on an outdated Georgia law to execute Anne’s arrest. According to a Georgia Supreme Court decision from 1982, charging someone with criminal defamation is unconstitutional. Anne King is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with compensation for all legal fees.

 

To think, all of this could have been avoided if folks checked the petty, and Corey didn’t abuse power. Smh. Shame.

The Petty Files: Sheriff Has Ex Arrested For What She Wrote About Him On Facebook  was originally published on globalgrind.com