Abortion ban, impactful political races, sheriff convicted in federal court: Biggest news stories of 2022
Atlanta skyline in 2022. (Photo: Billy Heath/FOX 5 Atlanta)
As you prepare to celebrate the New Year, take some time to look back on the year that was.
Georgia has been through a busy election season, celebrities were charged with crimes and the Georgia Bulldogs won the College Football Playoff Championship.
Here's a look back at the top stories from 2022.
Kemp wins Georgia governor race, Warnock wins Senate seat in runoff
There were major stakes for Georgian's during the 2022 midterm elections
Gov. Brian Kemp defended office and beat Democratic Challenger Stacey Abrams in the race to become Georgia's governor.
Raphael Warnock tells supporters 'The people have spoken' after claiming victory in the US Senate race
Sen. Raphael Warnock was reelected on Tuesday after a tight runoff battle with Republican challenger Herschel Walker. This will be Warnock's first full term in the U.S. Senate after being seated following a special election in 2020.
Sen Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, also defended his seat against Republican challenger Herschel Walker. The race included a heated debate as well as months of attacks and allegations. It took a runoff to decide the race.
While Warnock won the federal race, Republicans kept control of state offices. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger defended his seat, despite rebuking former President Donald Trump. State Sen. Burt Jones won the race for Lt. Governor and Attorney General Chris Carr retained his office.
Kemp signs constitutional carry bill
The bill removes the requirement for gun owners to get a concealed carry permit to be armed in public.
The bill's opponents have criticized it for making it easier for criminals to have firearms. The bill has been blamed for Atlanta's crime problems.
"SB 319 makes sure that law-abiding Georgians — law-abiding Georgians, including out daughters and your family too — can protect themselves without having the permission of the state government. The constitution of the United States gives us that right, not the government," Kemp said at the signing. "HB 218 ensures that individuals who are licensed to carry in another state are also authorized to do so here in Georgia."
Grand jury investigates 2020 election interference by Trump, Giuliani others
Former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn appears before Fulton County grand jury
Michael Flynn and his lawyers put up quite a legal battle to keep from appearing before the Fulton County special grand jury investigating possible illegal interference in the 2020 election by then-President Donald Trump and others. The former national security advisor to Trump legally tried to quash the summons for him to testify in Florida, but an appeals court this week rejected his arguments. That set the stage for his testimony on Thursday.
A special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies appears to be wrapping up. Jurors are determining if they should indict people for illegally trying to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election in Georgia.
The investigation is one of several that former president Trump is facing head of a campaign to return to the White House in 2024.
The grand jury sought testimony from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, as well as John Eastman and other lawyers who participated in Trump’s attempts to stay in power.
Georgia supreme court reinstates 'heartbeat law'
The Georgia Supreme Court reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy.
The opinion came after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade opinion that guaranteed the right to abortion in the U.S.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled on November 15 that the state’s abortion ban was invalid because when it was signed into law in 2019, U.S. Supreme Court precedent under Roe. v. Wade and another ruling allowed abortion well past six weeks.
The state attorney general’s office appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
Woman arrested in deadly triple shooting in Midtown
Two people are dead and another is hospitalized after authorities say Raissa Kengne opened fire during deadly "targeted" shootings at an apartment building and office building in Midtown Atlanta.
Police say Kengne took a taxi to get out of Midtown.
The shootings locked down Midtown for about two hours until Kengne was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
She faces charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill guilty on federal charges
A federal jury found suspended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill guilty on six of seven charges accusing him of violating the constitutional rights of pre-trial detainees by having them strapped into restraint chairs inside the jail for hours at a time.
While prosecutors allege Hill used the chair arbitrarily to punish detainees, his defense team argued the sheriff employed the device as a preventative measure to help control inmates' potentially dangerous behavior.
Hill since appointed his successor, former Chief Deputy
Georgia Bulldogs win National Championship
Georgia Bulldogs football earned a 33-18 victory over Alabama to clinch the first National Championship in 41 years.
Fans flooded the streets of downtown Athens the following morning following the Bulldogs' historic victory.
Days later, fans packed Sanford Stadium in Athens afternoon to celebrate the Bulldogs College Football Playoff National Championship victory.
Todd, Julie Chrisley sentenced to prison
The Chrisleys, who portrayed themselves as real estate tycoons on their TV reality show "Chrisley Knows Best," were sentenced in November to a combined 19 years in prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution that could cost them their Tennessee mansions.
In June, the pair were found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. Once that scheme fell apart, prosecutors say they walked away from their responsibility to repay the loans when Todd Chrisley declared bankruptcy. While in bankruptcy, they started their reality show and "flaunted their wealth and lifestyle to the American public," prosecutors wrote, and then hid the millions they made from the show from the IRS. Julie Chrisley was also convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
3 men sentenced in death of Ahmaud Arbery
Travis McMichael, 36, was sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge for hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery after chasing the 25-year-old Black man in a Georgia. The federal sentence came after McMichael was sentenced to life without parole in a Georgia state court for Arbery’s murder.
His father, Greg McMichael, and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan had sentencing hearings scheduled later Monday.
Greg McMichael, 66, was also sentenced to life in prison.
William "Roddie" Bryan was sentenced to 35 years. Bryan recorded the video of the shooting.
There could be more criminal charges for others involved in the investigation of Arbery's death. A judge postponed a court hearing for a former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson charged with meddling in the police investigation of the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery.
Athens woman Debbie Collier missing, cause of death determined
People were captivated by the mysterious death of an Athens woman found in the woods in Habersham County.
Debbie Collier was found dead on Sept. 11 in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest south of Clayton, a 90-minute drive from her home in Athens. Her husband, Steven Collier, reported her missing around 6 p.m. the day b.efore She was a discovered few feet downhill from the site of a small fire, with burns on her stomach, soot in her nostrils and clutching at a small tree.
Collier's death was ruled a suicide by the G.B.I. Medical Examiner’s Office, according to the Habersham County Sheriff's Office.
The Habersham County Sheriff's Office said Friday autopsy results show Collier died from "inhalation of superheated gases, thermal injuries, and hydrocodone intoxication."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Takeoff fans pack State Farm Arena to remember Migos member
Fans of late Migos member Takeoff, killed in a shooting outside a Houston bowling alley on Nov. 1, are gathering at State Farm Arena for a memorial service.
Houston police arrested Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, and charged him with Takeoff's murder.
Takeoff's bandmates have been mostly quiet about his death.
Most of the 40 people who attended the party at 810 Billiards & Bowling fled when the gunshots rang out, investigators said. Police were asking people to come forward and give statements and videos to investigators on what they saw and heard, even if anonymously, Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
At least two people discharged firearms, according to investigators. The two others who were struck by gunfire had non-life-threatening wounds and went to hospitals in private vehicles, he said.
Rapper Young Thug arrested on RICO Act charges
Hearing for rapper Young Thug
Attorneys for Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, is asking a judge to return his cell phone and suppress any evidence found in it. They argue the phone was seized, but was not part of the original search warrant. Williams is being charged under the RICO act along with a couple dozen other associates believed to be part of the YSL gang.
Fulton County prosecutors indicted Young Thug, Gunna and 26 other defendants in a large RICO case.
Prosecutors believe Young Thug, Jeffery Williams, and Gunna, Sergio Kitchens, led a street gang called "Young Slime Life." The DA’s office says the two, along with their associates used violence, drugs, and even murder to make money.
Kitchens pleaded guilty and was released from jail.
The trial begins in January.