Bartee files Lawsuit

James Bartee is back in the news.  The former Oconee County Sheriff’s candidate is suing several people he says are involved in getting him arrested on an attempted kidnapping charge.  The suit, seeking actual and punitive damages, names Nicholas Blackwell as defendant.  Bartee is accusing Blackwell of fabricating a claim that he sought to kidnap a retired judge because of other civil litigation aimed at derailing his campaign for Oconee County Sheriff. Bartee’s lawsuit also states that the chief prosecutor in Oconee County conspired with her husband, who leads the county’s Republican Party, and other law officers and candidates for sheriff.  After his arrest on the kidnapping charge last May, Bartee withdrew from the race before the June primary.