MOBILE, Ala.—A lawsuit against the Escambia County District Attorney Stephen Billy, Sheriff Heath Jackson, and several deputies over their retaliatory arrests of four residents will move forward after a federal court ruled on the officials’ motions to dismiss. The “Atmore Four” are suing with the Institute for Justice (IJ) over the violation of their constitutional rights.
“Americans must be able to participate in their government without fear that they’ll be labeled as political enemies, investigated, and punished for exposing corruption,” said IJ Senior Attorney Jared McClain. “Sherry, Don, Cindy, and Ashley were just doing their jobs and what they knew was right. But because that got in the way of the district attorney and sheriff, they ended up in jail. The district court’s decision is an important step in ensuring that public officials face accountability when they abuse their power to settle political disputes.”
Sherry Digmon was the co-owner of Atmore News, which for 20 years covered a town of 13,000 nestled on the Alabama-Florida border. She also serves on the Escambia County School Board. Don Fletcher was the reporter for Atmore News. Cindy Jackson serves with Sherry on the board (not related to Sheriff Jackson). And Ashley Fore is the payroll supervisor for the board. In a plot worthy of a John Grisham novel, they were all hauled into jail, in some cases strip-searched, and had their mugshots aired on the local news. They were all charged with felonies that carried three-year prison sentences.
Behind the charges was a scheme by long-time Escambia County District Attorney Stephen Billy to strongarm the school board into renewing the contract of then-School Superintendent Michele McClung. For further background on the scheme, Billy and Jacksons’ motives, and how it was carried out, see IJ’s case backgrounder.
“We’re glad that our case will finally move forward,” said Cindy Jackson. “The district attorney and sheriff have not been held accountable for trying to silence us. This lawsuit is important to get us all justice for wrongful arrests, but also to make an example of what happens when government officials abuse their power.”
Nearly all of the plaintiffs’ claims against Sheriff Jackson and his deputies will proceed to discovery.
And while U.S. District Court Judge Terry Moorer dismissed some legal claims against Billy, several survived the prosecutor’s claim of absolute immunity (the legal doctrine that protects prosecutors from lawsuits directly related to prosecutions). The court allowed the claims related to the seizure of Digmon, Jackson, and Fore’s cell phones to proceed against Billy, ruling that those acts were beyond his role as prosecutor. The court also ruled that the plaintiffs could sue Billy for conspiring with the sheriff to deprive them of their constitutional rights.
IJ is a nonprofit, public interest law firm that defends the First Amendment across the U.S. and challenges the various immunities government officials have to lawsuits over violations of constitutional rights. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas councilwoman who was arrested for her opposition to her city’s mayor. IJ is also suing on behalf of a Kansas councilwoman who faced a retaliatory investigation, a candidate for school board in Arizona, a citizen journalist in Texas arrested for his reporting, and an Ohio man targeted by his city’s mayor and police chief.