GOULD, AR – Gould Mayor Earnest Nash was attacked Thursday evening. Nash tells FOX16 he was pistol whipped, and the incident was the culmination of months of harassment against him and his family.
The tensions go back to January, when the new members of the Gould city council took office. Recently, those tensions gained national attention when the city council passed an
ordinance banning all public and private meetings discussing any city matters within the city limits.
The
unconstitutional ordinance was aimed at the Gould Citizens Advisory Council. On Tuesday, the Advisory Council filed a lawsuit against council members Harry Hall and Rosieanna Smith, challenging their eligibility to serve on the city council--Hall for his criminal record in Jefferson County, and Smith because she allegedly does not live in the Ward she represents.
Later that day Mayor Nash was attacked. Nash tells FOX16 that the attack was perpetrated by a Gould citizen who supports council members who Nash frequently clashes with. Nash had to go the hospital in Dumas to be treated for his injuries.
FOX16 talked to one council member who says he witnessed the altercation, Harry Hall. He says although he was there, he wasn’t involved. Hall says he saw the mayor talking with council members Sonya Farley and Rosieanna Smith in a silver car when a citizen joined in on the heated discussion. Hall says Nash and the man began yelling at one another, and then things got “physical.”
Sitting in his blood-soaked Razorbacks shirt, with stitches in his right temple, Nash described the attack in a live interview on FOX16. Despite the attack, the mayor does not plan to do anything different.
“I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere, I’m going to stay the mayor whether they like it or not. They’re not going to run me off,” said Nash.
During the interview, Councilwoman Sonya Farley drove up and confronted Nash. During the argument, Farley had to be restrained and taken away from Nash. As Farley was being taken away, Nash said the car she drove up in was also present during his attack.
No arrests have been made in Nash’s assault. He says State Police is handling the investigation. Nash says he plans to press charges against all involved in the attack as soon as possible.
