“That’s My Child” Founder Charles Lee Files Legal Claim Against Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed

Charles Lee, the founder of the “That’s My Child” Montgomery non-profit, has filed a legal claim against Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed over public statements Reed made about him.

As WAKA 8 has reported, Lee had wanted a public apology from Reed after Reed called him “a shyster, a hustler and a liar,” at a news conference in February. According to the legal claim, the apology has not been made.

Reed held the news conference to publicly address secretly recorded audio tapes of him that were made public. In those clips recorded in 2020, Reed could be heard using profanity many times in discussing the Black vote and other issues. Reed blamed Lee for recording him and for releasing the recordings after Reed said Lee tried to extort the city for money.

Reed says the recordings were made when he had sought Lee’s help in calming down the city in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the national unrest that followed, but Reed says Lee wanted $30,000. Reed said Lee threatened to turn the Black vote against him or even burn down the city.

WATCH: MONTGOMERY MAYOR STEVEN REED’S NEWS CONFERENCE

In his legal claim, Lee says, “As a direct and proximate result, I also have suffered and have continued to suffer damages, including, but not limited to, mental anguish, emotional distress, costs and attorney’s fees. Mayor Steven Reed has caused injury to me, including damage to my reputation and character, and caused unwarranted disgrace, ridicule, odium, or contempt in the estimation of my friends and acquaintances, or the public, resulting in damage to my reputation. 

“In accordance with the Code of Alabama, I seek damages in such an amount as the facts and law suggest in accordance with the statutory limit of $100,000 in state law claims and an unlimited amount in any federal law claims. I also seek additional pecuniary and exemplary damages as Mayor Steven Reed has failed to correct and retract his defamatory statements and issue a public apology to me.”

The mayor’s office previously released a response, saying, “We have met with the appropriate law enforcement agencies and we will not be able to comment further until all criminal investigations into the attempted extortion of the mayor are complete.”

READ: Charles Lee’s Legal Claim Against Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed