Councilwoman allegedly pushed security guard to ground during fight at Oakland Cemetery

ATLANTA — An Atlanta city councilwoman is defending her actions after she allegedly got into a fight with a security guard at Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery.

Councilwoman Liliana Bakhtiari said she was at the cemetery last Friday for a surprise sunset wedding engagement, with the approval of the Historic Oakland Foundation.

In a statement that she released on social media, Bakhtiari said that a security guard approached her and her friends and asked them to leave. She said as they were packing up their bags, another man approached them with no flashlight and began “shouting obscenities at the top of his voice.”

According to a police report obtained by Channel 2 Action News, the women became combative with him.

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The report said the man, who was a security guard, yelled, “‘Pack it up, pack it up! It’s time to go.’ He stated that he then saw several females stand up, and one walked up to him and put her hand in his face. He stated that he told her to back up, and she then pushed him down.”

“He stated that the female continued coming towards him, knocked his hat off, and hit him across his forehead. He stated that the female who assaulted him was Ms. Liliana Bakhtiari. He then denied medical attention and stated that he didn’t have any injuries. He also advised that he didn’t want to press any charges,” the report said.

“I stepped forward to intervene on behalf of my friends, both to identify him and to protect them from his advance. I would never condone violence, but I do believe in standing my ground to protect those that I love,” Bakhtiari said in her statement.

In her statement, Bakhtiari said she learned that the man who approached them had lost his job.

“As always, I remain committed to transparency and accountability. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have with regard to this incident,” she said.

Read the full narrative from the incident report below:

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