A Georgia Democrat who claimed a white man told her to “go back where you came from” actually told the man, who has Cuban heritage, to “go back where you came from,” according to a witness.
State Rep. Erica Thomas claimed that she was in a Publix store when she was approached by a man who uttered the words. She later backtracked after the man came forward and identified himself as Eric Sparkes.
Sparkes said he did call Thomas a name after becoming upset that she was in the express line with too many items but did not make the allegedly racially charged comment. He also revealed that he is of Cuban descent and is a Democrat. A number of posts on his Facebook page denigrate President Donald Trump.
Now a police report reveals that a witness at Publix actually heard Thomas say the same words she accused the man of saying.
The witness, a Publix employee, told a Cobb County officer that she witnessed part of the interaction and heard Thomas “continuously tell Eric Sparkes to ‘Go back where you came from!’”
The police report was obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The employee said that she did not hear Sparkes tell Thomas to “go back where you came from.”
Thomas has not responded directly to the damning information but her attorney, Gerald Griggs, told the Journal-Constitution that the report indicates that the case needs further investigation because the employee and another witness “didn’t hear the initial argument.”
Authorities said this week that the probe into the dispute involving Thomas and Sparkes is concluded and no criminal charges will be filed.
“After a thorough investigation both parties have been advised there will be no charges made by the Cobb County Police Department. Both were provided information on how to contact the Cobb County Magistrate’s Office if either wished to pursue any further criminal action,” Sgt. Wayne Delk of the Cobb County Police Department said in a statement.
Here’s the official release from Cobb County Police regarding the incident involving State Rep. Erica Thomas and Eric Sparkes at the grocery store. pic.twitter.com/VKvKE1ZTN6
— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) July 23, 2019
In an emotional video posted on Facebook on July 19, Thomas claimed: “This white man comes up to me and says, ‘You lazy son of [expletive]. You need to go back where you came from.’ Sir, you don’t even know me. I’m not lazy. I’m nine months pregnant.”
Reporters and media outlets across the nation seized on the narrative, trying to blame Trump for recently telling some Democratic congresswomen to return to countries from which they “originally came” to fix them. Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Beto O’Rourke and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, blasted Trump over the alleged incident.
The officer who wrote the police report said that surveillance video, which has not been released publicly, showed Sparkes appearing calm and retreating from Thomas as she moved towards him, “pointing her finger at him,” according to the Journal-Constitution.
As she moved towards him a second time, a Publix staff member indicated that he should leave the store and Thomas paid for the items she had in the checkout lane.
The interaction lasted about 45 seconds in total.
New details: Police report disputes Georgia lawmaker’s account of Publix incident #gapol https://t.co/Cm8Ut2MlXY
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) July 24, 2019
“Ms. Thomas kept ‘running her mouth’ as she approached him,” the employee told the police, noting Sparkes then called Thomas “ignorant.”
Another Publix employee told officers he overheard Sparkes call Thomas an expletive but he told the Journal-Constitution he also didn’t hear Sparkes tell Thomas to “go back” where she came from.
Sparkes said on Monday that he’s exploring a defamation lawsuit against Thomas.
Sparkes said in a statement to the Journal-Constitution that the media was too quick to publish stories based only on one side without investigating what actually happened.
“Everyone that knows me knows that I am anti-hate, anti-bigot and anti-racism,” he said. “Sadly, too much of media isn’t fact-checking items or they are just taking the word of a politician when they do a live Facebook or a Twitter post.”
