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Two candidates running for Knoxville mayor battling against pending criminal charges

A Knox County jury convicted Constance Every of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct. Richard Lawhorn faces indictments for illegally serving alcohol.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two of the four candidates in the Knoxville Mayor race are battling criminal charges. 

Constance Every, a local activist and candidate for mayor, was found guilty last month of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct. She is awaiting trial on charges she and several others disrupted a Knox County Commission meeting in April 2021. 

In late June, a Knox County grand jury indicted Richard Lawhorn for unlawfully selling alcohol while he was the owner of Billiards and Brews in West Knoxville, court records show. 

Every's Conviction

Every's conviction came from an incident at Nama Sushi on Gay Street. Testimony at trial showed Every started yelling at Nama Sushi employees because she couldn't order over the phone. 

"She got very nasty very quickly, all over the fact that she got here 15 minutes after we closed," an employee told 911 dispatchers, records show. 

Every accused the manager of only serving white people, the warrant said. She threw a lamp and shoved an employee, according to the warrants. 

Employees told officers Every threatened them with a gun but said they did not see "any signs of a gun," 911 call records said.

You can listen to the call below.

Editor's Note: Portions of the call may be disturbing to some people. WBIR 10News had edited the video to remove private information overheard in the call.

Knoxville Police Department Sgt. Scott Coffey responded to the call, dash camera video shows. Coffey spotted Every on State Street, as she was yelling. 

"I don't give a f--- about police. They're not going to do s--- to me," Every is heard saying on the body camera video. 

Police detained, then searched Every, and didn't find a gun, body camera video shows. 

Lawhorn's Indictment

Richard Lawhorn was the owner of Billiards & Brews, a West Knoxville bar. During the Knox County Health Department's COVID emergency, Billiards & Brews racked up 18 citations for refusing to follow the Health Department's alcohol curfew. 

In February 2021, the Knoxville Beer Board revoked Billiards & Brews' beer license and local liquor license. In January 2022, the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission revoked the bar's liquor by the drink license. 

Yet, when law enforcement raided the bar last July, they found 20 kegs of beer, and undercover agents were able to buy alcohol. 

A new business now operates in the space which housed Billiards & Brews, called Big Orange Billiards and Brews, LLC. Mark Byrd with the City of Knoxville said the new business picked up a beer permit in September 2022 and continues to operate. 

On June 28, 2023, a Knox County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Richard Lawhorn for storing liquor for sale and unlawful sale of alcoholic beverages. 

Lawhorn is suing the city of Knoxville and the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission for violating his civil rights as owner of Billiards & Brews, among other claims. 

Requests for comment

WBIR arranged an interview with Every to address the conviction on Monday, July 10 at 3 p.m. 

On Friday, July 7, Every said she would only do the interview if a Black person conducted the interview. WBIR does not allow subjects to dictate the interviewer. 

Lawhorn, through an attorney, would not comment on the lawsuit against the Tennessee ABC and the city of Knoxville. When asked about the indictment, Lawhorn said he was not aware of an indictment and threatened legal action against WBIR if the indictments were included in a report. 

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