Georgia Tech student files lawsuit over Sen. Perdue 'phone snatching'

ATLANTA — The Georgia Tech student whose smartphone was briefly snatched by U.S. Sen. David Perdue filed a lawsuit against him on Monday,

A civil battery complaint seeking damages for alleged unlawful battery was filed in Fulton State Court on behalf of the student, Nate Knauf.

The suit seeks a jury trial, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs from Perdue, stemming from a confrontation at a football tailgate on Oct. 13.

“Instead of answering his constituent’s question, civilly interacting with Mr. Knauf, or simply leaving, Senator Perdue forcefully took Mr. Knauf’s phone without his permission in a rude and offensive manner, which constitutes unlawful battery under Georgia law,” the complaint alleges.

Perdue’s office on Monday dismissed the lawsuit as a “completely frivolous” political stunt.

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"This is being orchestrated by a former Obama operative and current Democrat state representative who spends most of his time campaigning for Stacey Abrams," a Perdue spokeswoman told our investigative partners at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and AJC.com. "Georgians will see this for what it is – a manufactured setup to embarrass the Senator and attack his credibility two weeks before the midterm elections."

The suit comes a little more than a week after a video showing a confrontation between Perdue and Knauf, after Knauf asked Perdue about his support for Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Kemp.

The video shows Perdue cutting off Knauf and saying, “I’m not doing that,” after Knauf asked his question.

The video then momentarily cuts out before coming back into focus, with Knauf saying, “You stole my property. Give me my phone back, senator.”

Perdue’s camp previously called the episode a misunderstanding. The spokeswoman said Perdue thought he was being asked to take a picture and went in to take a selfie.

Our investigative partners at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and AJC.com contributed to this report.

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