Bryant mayoral candidate files defamation suit following video claiming sexual harassment, misappropriation of funds
BRYANT, Ark. – A man running for mayor in Bryant has filed a defamation lawsuit in response to a video accusing him of misappropriating city funds and sexual harassment.
Bryant mayoral candidate Jason Brown filed the suit against former Bryant Chamber of Commerce bookkeeper Courtney Park, saying her claims of misappropriating funds and sexual harassment are “completely false.”
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Earlier this month, Park appeared in a video discussing her time working with Brown. According to the video, Brown was Park’s boss at the chamber from 2019 to 2023.
“I was extremely uncomfortable working with Jason,” Park said in the video.
Park said during her time as the chamber’s bookkeeper, she had concerns about Brown’s misuse of funds. She said she brought those concerns to an unknown source but claimed she was met with retaliation.
“After that, he didn’t even bother to take my key, he just changed the locks and revoked my alarm code,” Park said. “He took me out of the day-to-day.”
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Park also claimed Brown sexually harassed her while on the job, making an inappropriate comment to her while she was grabbing paper from a lower cabinet.
“You don’t expect somebody to do that to you and you really do kind of freeze up,” Park said in the video. “A thousand scenarios go through your head, people come forward and then they get attacked. I was a single mom at the time, I just didn’t want to think about it again, but after what happened with our last mayor and I heard that he was going to run, I had to say something. He’s not a good man, he’s not a good person. He’s not cute, it’s not ok.”
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In the days after the video was posted, the chamber issued a statement saying that Park’s claims were “groundless” and that “there was no mishandling of funds.”
Brown called the video a “coordinated political stunt” and posted a statement on social media in response to the claims.
“These false allegations are not only an attempt to damage my campaign, but also an attempted character assassination,” Brown said. “I stand committed to the people of Bryant. I want to help make Bryant a better place by fixing our stormwater infrastructure, lowering our water bills, and providing a community that residents of Bryant are proud of in the future.”
In the lawsuit, Brown’s attorney said the “untruthful allegations” have caused “embarrassment and humiliation.”
Park and her attorney declined to comment for this story.
Brown faces Chris Treat in the special election on March 5 to find a permanent replacement for former Mayor Allen Scott, who resigned amidst allegations of sexual harassment by a former city employee.
Interim Mayor Rhonda Sanders, who formerly was president and CEO of Greater Bryant Chamber of Commerce and CEO of the Arkansas Food Bank, was appointed by the city council to the role in October.
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