Agency investigating if Facebook posts from suspended Columbus DA violate governor’s order
The government agency that supports Georgia prosecutors and district attorneys is working to determine if a series of Facebook comments from embattled Muscogee DA Mark Jones about discussing pending cases violated the terms of his suspension.
On Wednesday, District Attorney Mark Jones lashed out at Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, continued to call the felony charges against him false and told people to call him if they had questions about legal cases.
Jones offered multiple comments about the charges and the suspension on his public Facebook page “Mark Jones The Peoples DA.” The comments were made on a single social media post after Jones updated his Facebook cover photo Wednesday to a stylized portrait with the phrase “Office of the Suspended DA-Mark Jones” surrounding the drawing.
“This afternoon I was made aware of his posts on Facebook. I have directed PAC Legal Counsel to research the matter in order to determine whether such statements violate the intent of the Governor’s Order of Suspension,” said Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. “At this time, I have no further comments to make.”
The agency doesn’t have the authority to discipline Jones, and would offer its findings as advice on his actions. The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia provides important services to elected and appointed prosecutors statewide, including legal research assistance and professional responsibility guidance.
In one post, the chief prosecutor for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit that includes Columbus said Kemp “wants the DA seat but it doesn’t belong to him. It belongs to the people.”
Other comments on the post echo similar claims previously made by Jones and his supporters over the last several months: the city’s “good-ole boy network” never wanted him to be elected, and there’s been a concerted effort to remove him from office.
“They never wanted me to be DA,” Jones wrote in response to a comment. “I put the people first, and they couldn’t stand that. So they whip up some charges and basically call me a B word.”
Despite his suspension, Jones also posted in public Facebook groups asking people to reach out to him if they wanted to discuss a case or needed any legal advice.
“I’m just chilling now honestly due to the suspension,” he wrote in the comment thread.
“If anyone needs help with a legal case let me know. I ain’t tryna just sit here and do nothing while I’m suspended,” he wrote when sharing the post to a local Facebook group.
When contacted by the Ledger-Enquirer Wednesday, Jones answered the phone but said he needed to call the reporter back. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the call had not been returned.
The district attorney has not provided any comment about the suspension to Columbus media outlets since it was ordered by Kemp. Jones will remain suspended pending the outcome of a criminal trial on felony charges that include trying to bribe two employees and attempting to get a Columbus police officer to commit perjury. He was indicted by a grand jury in September.
Sheneka Jones Terry was sworn in Wednesday as Jones’ replacement. She will serve as the acting District Attorney until Jones’ case is resolved.
If Jones is acquitted of the charges against him, he may return to office. If he’s convicted and his appeals fail, Kemp may appoint an interim DA to serve out the rest of Jones’ term, which ends in 2024.
Other cases
Jones and a codefendant went to trial Sept. 13 on felony charges alleging they caused damage to the Columbus Civic Center parking lot while filming a campaign ad there in 2020, but the case ended in a mistrial.
Judge Jeffery Monroe declared the mistrial because sequestered witnesses viewed a TV live stream of the trial. Sequestered witnesses are prohibited from hearing others’ testimony. The prosecutor said Sept. 20 that he will dismiss those charges.
Besides the pending trial for alleged misconduct in office, Jones still faces a second felony case, accusing him of driving under the influence and other charges in a November 2019 accident.
After Jones rear-ended a woman’s car on the Manchester Expressway, tests showed he had a blood-alcohol content of .088, police said. Georgia law sets the threshold for a DUI charge at .08.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM.