Georgia mayor arrested on burglary and trespassing charges

A Georgia mayor was charged with burglary and criminal trespassing Saturday, leading the way for him to be temporarily replaced by a council member who was among four others who filed a lawsuit against him earlier this year.

Khalid Kamau, mayor of the City of South Fulton, was charged with criminal trespassing and first-degree burglary. He was released the same day on $11,000 in surety bonds. 

The police department forwarded a request for more details to the city’s public affairs director, who declined to provide details to NBC News Sunday, citing an “ongoing investigation.

“The City of South Fulton is committed to upholding the law and ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their position, are subject to the same fair and just treatment,” said Jacqueline Howell, interim director of public affairs for the city.

NBC News made an inquiry Sunday to the city’s public records office for the incident report.

Kamau was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to NBC affiliate WXIA.

An email from NBC News to Kamau’s official city email and his chief of staff was not immediately returned on Sunday. He posted to Facebook Saturday that he was “good” and “free.”

“God is still using me. Stay tuned,” he wrote.

Kamau also shared a bible version about “those who are persecuted because of righteousness.”

City councilwoman Natasha Williams-Brown will replace Kamau as mayor pro tem, according to 11Alive. The councilwoman told the station that the city will continue to function as usual as she takes over mayoral duties.

“If I get called upon to do any official actions as the acting mayor that’s what I will do, until such time as Mayor Khalid returns to duty,” Williams-Brown said.

Williams-Brown is one of five council members who filed suit against Kamau in March in an attempt to remove him from office. Only two members of the council were not party to the suit, court records show.

The suit alleges that Kamau knowingly disclosed confidential information for his benefit since his election and recorded confidential executive sessions, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported at the time.

Kamau has been in a contentious relationship with the council for over a year. The council made a request in June 2022 to the district attorney’s office, asking for an investigation Kamau’s charged on a city-issued credit card that were discovered in an audit.

He then subsequently asked Georgia Bureau of Investigations to investigate the city council for corruption the following month, according to WXIA.