A Knox County mayoral candidate that was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday spoke her mind after saying she posted bond overnight.
50-year-old Rhonda Gallman faces four felony charges in California and is accused of trying to convince witnesses not to testify in a criminal case against her son, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.
Gallman's son Jamahl Thomas, 24, faces two counts of attempted murder and one count each of conspiracy to commit murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, according to the DA's office.
Gallman is charged with four counts of preventing or dissuading a victim or witness from testifying in court. Officials said her bond was raised from $100,000 to $400,000 on Sunday, and she said she posted bond and was released on Monday.
Late Monday night in California, Gallman posted a Facebook Live video on her account. In the video, Gallman maintained she was innocent, speaking about the arrest and tearfully explaining her experiences during her time behind bars at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California.
“What I would like to do is say this to y'all -- I have never manipulated anybody, tricked anybody … neither have I tried,” she said.
Gallman said she suffered an anxiety attack while being arrested and said she was rushed to the hospital.
Later in the video Gallman said she would be returning to Knox County soon and will speak with the Knox County Election Commission Tuesday "to see what they say" moving forward before her next court date in Los Angeles on March 23.
“I‘m going to call the election commission," she said. “Even though I’m innocent, it’s not a good look for a mayor, or someone running for mayor to be behind bars until this case is taken care of.“
Gallman is running as a Democrat in the Knox County mayoral race.
In January, a GoFundMe page was set up for Gallman. The page said she needed help traveling to California because her son was arrested, and she wanted to be there for him.
Linda Haney is the only other candidate in the Democratic primary for Knox County Mayor. Bob Thomas, Glenn Jacobs and Brad Anders are all running in the Republican primary. The primary will be held May 1.