No Charges in Georgia Lawmaker Grocery Store Dispute

Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

Police say they will not file any charges in the dispute between a black Georgia lawmaker and a white man she accused of verbally assaulting her for having too many items in a grocery checkout line.

Cobb County Police spokesman Sergeant Wayne Delk said Tuesday that authorities investigated and won't charge anyone. The dispute happened Friday at a Publix grocery store in Mableton, Georgia.

In a widely shared Facebook video, a tearful state Rep. Erica Thomas accused a man later identified as Eric Sparkes of racism. She said he told her, "You need to go back where you came from."

Thomas is a Democratic lawmaker from Austell. She is nine months pregnant.

Sparkes admitted cursing at Thomas but says he didn't tell her to "go back where you came from."

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