Governor Drops Lawsuit Against Atlanta Mayor Over Masks, But Fight May Not Be Over

Gov. Brain Kemp is taking a new approach in his battle over face masks with Atlanta's mayor. Rather than have a judge rule on the conflict, he's going to issue a new order on the subject.

On Thursday Kemp announced the attorney general's office has withdrawn a lawsuit he filed against Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the Atlanta city council, when she moved to reinstate more restrictive COVID-19-related safeguards.

Following a surge in coronavirus cases after the state opened up, Bottoms suggested that nonessential businesses shut down and that people shelter in place. She also issued a citywide mandatory mask-wearing ordinance.

Those directives went beyond the regulations laid out by Kemp in an executive order. So the governor sued Bottoms and the city arguing she had contradicted his own mandate.

"I sued the City of Atlanta to immediately stop the shuttering of local businesses and protect local workers from economic instability," Kemp explained in a statement on Thursday.