On the eve of the Maryland Primary Election, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney race got ugly.
Dueling press conferences all with harsh words after candidate Ivan Bates threatened a civil suit against opponents Thiru Vignarajah and incumbent Marilyn Mosby.
Throughout the campaign process, one of the Bates campaign pillars has been an undefeated record in prosecuting homicide cases.
On Monday he took his defense of that record a step further saying he drafted a civil lawsuit for defamation against his opponents that he plans to file on election day.
“I won every single one of those cases and I protected the citizens and gave justice to every single loved one,” Bates said. “That murderer of your loved one was found guilty."
A couple hours after Bates threat, Mosby said she won't be bullied by Bates and that he would lose that case.
Doubling down on her campaigns claim that Bates record claim is exaggerated.
"At a time when public trust of the police department is at an all-time low Baltimore cannot afford to have a States Attorney who blatantly misrepresents his experience to the citizens and the voters of the city,” Mosby said.
At Thiru Vignarajah's headquarters, he pointed to a Maryland Case Search of Bates cases.
Vignarajah said Bates hasn’t lost because he’s never tried a murder case.
"Mr. Bates if he feels there is a defamation lawsuit to be filed should feel free to file it,” Vignarajah said. “Because if you are in last place and this is the kind of Hail Mary tactics you do to attack the two-front runner you are not ready for prime time.”
With the spotlight on the polls on Tuesday, the people will get the chance to choose whose case they believe the most.
To learn more about the candidates running for Baltimore City State’s Attorney click here.
