28-02-2025
Defamation plaintiffs aren't backing down following London mayor's demands
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56)—Amid a host of controversies, City of London Mayor Randall Weddle fired back at his social media accusers in a private briefing on Thursday afternoon.
The mayor's appearance on True Crimecast's 'The End of Deep Corruption' has led to two defamation lawsuits being filed only a week from one another.
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Two former state troopers, James 'Jimmy' and John Phelps, and a London resident, Elijah Jarvis, alleged the mayor made false and damaging statements against them online.
Court documents allege that the mayor accused Jarvis and the Phelps brothers of sexual misconduct and committing other crimes, including murder.
On Wednesday, an invitation from Jeremey Bryant, Weddle's counsel, teased that Weddle would provide 'documentary evidence' to back up his claims.
'I have been standing for four years trying to fight a corrupt system,' Weddle said on Thursday.
FOX 56 spoke with the plaintiffs' attorney, Brandon Voelker, on the heels of the second lawsuit being filed.
'Whenever somebody seeks to question him, instead of just answering, he attacks people,' Voelker told FOX 56 on Tuesday. 'You know the way he feels is that he's not really like the elected mayor. He's more like a king or a monarch. And I think that's a, a scary proposition for a city that has somebody that believes they're not accountable to anyone.'
Bryant noted that Thursday's event would be a direct response to Voelker's interview. FOX 56 initially reached out to Weddle for comment in response to the lawsuit, to which he affirmed their response would be made in court upon receipt of the litigation.
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But on Thursday, the energy shifted.
'I'm not going to allow my client, who I know to be a man of character, to be degraded as he was by Mr. Voelker and by the ridiculousness of these suits—I will not allow that,' Bryant said. 'So, rather than going through the litigation game and going through the game of using the media like Mr. Voelker seems to be doing, we are here with the truth. And if they proceed on after today, they will be doing so to their detriment.'
Weddle questions the credibility of his accusers, and he and his attorney handed out nearly a hundred pages of documents in an attempt to show the 'truthfulness of his statements.'
'The facts lie in these documents—so that's why we're here today. And when you get an attorney out there that's basically saying I'm a tyrant, I try to act like a king to silence people—no, that's not true,' Weddle stated.
The documents contain information regarding multiple court cases dating back to 2014, some of which are concerning records that have been expunged, the plaintiffs told FOX 56.
'The allegations they've made against me are false,' Jarvis told FOX 56. 'Nothing that they have shown or said proves any of the allegations they've made against me.
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Bryant ultimately demanded that the litigation be dropped by 5 p.m. on Friday or they'll begin to 'go down the rabbit hole.'
Voelker affirmed that he or his clients have no intention to drop the litigation.
'I think it's another attempt to distract the citizens of London and Laurel County,' Jarvis estimated.
For more information on the lawsuits, click here.
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