Two threatening messages directed at South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau in the wake of his July 8 arrest may have come from men in Kansas and Texas, according to a July 12 police report that describes two “racially motivated malicious communications” over email and voice message.
Police said a search for the email address shows it might belong to a 48-year-old resident of Newton, Kansas. The phone number that left the voice message apparently belongs to a 62-year-old from Carrollton, Texas.
Both men are white, according to the police report. Kamau is Black, as are all members of the South Fulton City Council and 92% of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Kamau did not respond to requests for comment. The mayor’s office referred questions to Jacqueline Howell, South Fulton interim director of Public Affairs. She offered no updates on the case but provided a brief statement.
“Our first and foremost priority is the safety and security of all our public officials and staff,” the statement says. “We take any alleged threats seriously and are actively collaborating with all agencies involved in the investigation.
“We will ensure that accurate and responsible information is disseminated to the public when received.”
According to the police report, Howell received a 37-second voicemail July 10 regarding Kamau. It denounces him and “Black Lives Matter,” degenerating into an incoherent stream of obscenities.
Howell told police she had not received any other threats. But Kamau provided police with an email from July 11 with the subject line “LMAO,” referring to his arrest three days earlier.
Also sprinkled with obscenities, it’s more explicitly racist and threatening.
“The majority of Americans don`t care for blacks, I`m one of them,” the email says. “I’m not cutting any of you slack, catch y`all committing crimes, put you trash out of your misery.”
Kamau was arrested on first-degree burglary and criminal trespass charges, accused of entering a lake house in the 6000 block of Cascade Palmetto Highway on a Saturday morning. The house, used for furniture storage, is owned by a nearby resident who came to the scene and held Kamau at gunpoint until police arrived, according to a South Fulton Police Department report.
Kamau contended that he thought the house was empty and was interested in buying it. He was booked into Fulton County Jail and released on bond the same day.
City officials said they expected Kamau to return to work as usual, and that city business would not be disrupted by his arrest.
Kamau, elected in 2021, is also the target of an ongoing lawsuit by five of South Fulton’s seven city council members, seeking his removal from office. They alleged he secretly recorded executive sessions, then released some of that private information and used some for personal benefit.
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