The Georgia household is suing the native grocer for defamation

  • A family is suing an employee for posts they held for alleged roles in the Capitol riot.
  • Kathryn and Thelma Cagle are said to have organized buses to DC, the Washington Post reported.
  • The Post said Rayven Goolsby confronted them on Facebook after watching videos from the rally.
  • You can find more stories in Insider’s business section.

A prominent Georgia family has sued their local grocer after alleging allegations on social media of alleged involvement in the Capitol uprising, the Washington Post reported.

The Post reported that a third party identified Kathryn Cagle and her mother Thelma Cagle as part of the “core team” that organized busloads of participants driving from Georgia to DC on Jan. 6 to protest Save America, which sparked protests Rupture of the Capitol and the deaths of five people.

The Cagles are public figures in their community. Kathryn was the former leader of the Pickens County, Georgia Republican Party, and her father, William Cagle, served on the Pickens County Planning Commission for a tenure that ended in December.

This is how Rayven Goolsby, who works at a local grocery store, recognized Kathryn and Thelma when they posted their DC rally videos on Facebook.

The Post reported that Goolsby wrote on Facebook, “I thought Kate Cagle [was] I hope she doesn’t intend to make a career out of unrest planning on the planning committee. “In a separate post, Goolsby addressed Thelma directly and wrote:” Didn’t you take part in the uprising? I’m pretty sure you did. “

In another post, The Post reported, Goolsby also called William a homophobic “loser” in reference to previous comments he made on his Facebook account calling transgender people “FREAKS” and accusing them of not being in to be able to decide where to take a leak. “

The Cagles are now suing Goolsby for libel and defamation in the Pickens County Supreme Court. Her lawsuit alleges that the online posts are damaging her reputation and wrongly associating her with “overt criminal behavior”.

“Our customers are saddened and that is why they are in the suit. It is our wish of the Company and Cagle that we can hopefully resolve this in a mutually beneficial and amicable manner,” David McDonald told The Post.

Goolsby’s attorney Andrew Fleischman argued that the family tried to use the suit as a means of intimidation. He added that Goolsby had a public interest in their side.

“We shouldn’t be afraid that criticizing someone important in our community could cost us thousands of dollars,” Fleischman said.