Criminal past resurfaces, so a top guy in Georgia for Trump now gone
The Georgia state director for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign resigned Tuesday after being confronted by an Atlanta TV station about his criminal history in Bibb County.
Brandon Phillips, 30, had been heading up Trump’s campaign since November 2015.
“Today we accepted the resignation of the Trump-Pence campaign’s Georgia state director Brandon Phillips. Billy Kirkland, our Georgia senior adviser, will continue to lead the campaign’s operations in Georgia,” a senior communications adviser for the Republican presidential nominee said in a statement.
Phillips’ resignation comes after WSB-TV recently learned that Phillips had pleaded guilty to lesser charges including criminal trespassing and battery in connection with an incident in Bibb County that happened on Phillips’ 22nd birthday in January 2008.
According to a May 2008 Superior Court indictment, Phillips slashed a man’s tires, causing about $500 in damages. He also intentionally hurt the man, causing “visible bodily harm ... cuts and bruises to the head and torso,” the indictment said.
Phillips also damaged a woman’s door and computer “by throwing, hitting or smashing the door and laptop,” causing more than $500 in damages, the indictment said.
Records show Phillips was treated as a first offender and sentenced to 36 months probation in September 2008.
However, a few months later, in November 2008, Phillips was identified by a woman who said he’d pointed a gun at her, according to an incident report the Atlanta Police Department sent The Telegraph on Wednesday.
Phillips told police he pointed the firearm at the woman after hearing someone banging on his front door, the report said. He completed a pretrial diversion program, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Laura Corley: 478-744-4334, @Lauraecor
This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Criminal past resurfaces, so a top guy in Georgia for Trump now gone."