Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling took to Facebook to express discomfort after several "Justice for Steve Perkins" protesters showed up at his church.
He said the group consisted of people who have been speaking at council meetings since Perkins was shot and killed by police on Sept. 29, 2023.
Bowling identified Garrick Rawls as one of the protesters in his church. Bowling posted a photo of the people in church and wrote, "This morning a known civil rights activist from Huntsville who has an extensive arrest history, Garrick Rawls ... arrived and sat directly behind Sherry and me."
"Rawls was wearing a badge clearly showing his [sic] was attending is [sic] support of the Perkins incident," he continued.
The mayor said he tried to shake Rawls' hand, but Rawls refused, leaving Bowling feeling uneasy.
Bowling left the council chambers before public comment during Monday's council meeting. However, one of the protesters from the church attended the meeting and addressed the Facebook post.
"I would much rather address the Karen who just left the room known as the mayor of Decatur," she said. "Oh my, he's such a victim. Six people show up to his church on the anniversary of Steve's murder, and we are now stalkers."
"No, we are citizens taking advantage of our constitutional rights in a silent protest," she continued. "I smiled and spoke to him when it was God's will that we passed right in front of him. We sat in the middle, not near him."
The woman said the group never had any plan to harm Bowling. She said Rawls did not shake the mayor's hand because "he has been wrongly arrested, spent more time in jail than the actual murderer. He has been walked out on meetings, he has called names like 'terrorist.'"
Rawls responded on social media, saying, "Him [Bowling] mad cuz I did'nt [sic] shake his hand. Shouldn't have extended it Goofy."
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