Former Georgia Democratic Candidate Who Promoted ‘Bomb Mar-a-Lago’ Arrested in Major Child Exploitation Sting
A former Democratic Party candidate for Georgia’s State House was arrested as part of a multi-agency operation targeting online child exploitation in Muscogee County, Georgia.
Carl Sprayberry, 32, and 18 others were taken into custody during a four-day sting operation between April 25 and April 28. The arrests followed a coordinated effort to dismantle an online network of individuals attempting to exploit minors for sex.
The operation specifically targeted individuals attempting to solicit sexual acts from minors through online platforms, including dating sites and apps.
Each of the 19 individuals arrested faced serious charges, including human trafficking, computer or electronic pornography and child exploitation.
At least one defendant is also facing charges of attempting to evade law enforcement, Trending Politics reports.
Sprayberry, who had previously run as a Democratic Party nominee for Georgia’s State House District 139, drew attention earlier this year for a controversial post on his now-suspended X account, where he called for the assassination of President Donald Trump.
Despite his inflammatory statements, Sprayberry continued with his political career and secured the Democratic nomination for the state house in 2024.
However, he was ultimately defeated by Republican Carmen Rice in the general election by nearly 30 percentage points.
Sheriff Greg Countryman of Muscogee County expressed outrage over the operation’s targets, emphasizing the severity of the crimes.
“It takes a sick individual to want to take away a right that a child has – and the freedom and the safety and the comfort that a child has – to bring harm to these children,” Countryman said in a press conference, per TP.
The operation, a collaboration between local and state law enforcement agencies, aimed to prevent potential harm to children in the community.
Brian Johnston, an official with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, clarified that no children were harmed during the operation.
“There were no children at harm at all in this,” Johnston explained.
“Except for the fact that had we not been there as law enforcement working in an undercover capacity, these very same perpetrators that were arrested would have been talking to our children in our community and they would have been talking about sexual acts and meeting up for sexual acts and exchanging pornography.”
District Attorney Don Kelly stressed the extensive preparation and the importance of the operation in protecting children from exploitation.
“An operation like this takes months to prepare,” Kelly noted. “Protecting our children from these kinds of predators is one of the most important things that we can do both as law enforcement and as prosecutors.”
In response to the sting, Sheriff Countryman offered advice to parents, urging them to monitor their children’s online activity.
“I can’t stress enough for the parents – please monitor your children and what they do on the computers,” Countryman said. “It’s OK to be a nosey parent. Know who they’re speaking with because we’re not going to stop until they stop preying on our kids.”
The arrests serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing efforts by law enforcement to combat child exploitation and human trafficking, with an emphasis on tackling the growing problem of online predation.
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