UH OH! Sounds like the man Erica Thomas accused of 'verbal assault' isn't going to take it lying down

Doug P. | 2:32 PM on July 22, 2019

As we told you this afternoon, Georgia State Rep. Erica Thomas made it known that she wants police to charge Eric Sparkes, who Thomas said “verbally assaulted” her at a grocery store when she was in an express lane with too many items. At this point we’re not quite sure what Thomas would like Sparkes charged with, but we’ll see. Thomas originally said Sparkes told her to “go back” where she came from before backtracking, but she later backtracked on the backtracking. Meanwhile, Eric Sparkes apparently isn’t going to take it lying down as evidenced by this statement:

The man State Rep. Erica Thomas encountered in a grocery store just sent me a statement reacting to her morning newser: “Ms. Thomas has taken an innocuous situation that began on my part to be about being inconsiderate and turned into a national case about race over night….” pic.twitter.com/LnMkQozABx

— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) July 22, 2019

Eric Sparkes’ statement continues: “Ms. Thomas accuses me of telling her to go back to whereever. Those words were never spoken. She backtracked slightly and now is changing her story. I am in the process of exploring with attorneys a defamation lawsuit against her.”

— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) July 22, 2019