Bartee files civil suit

After removing himself as an Oconee County political candidate, James Bartee vowed last year he would fight to restore his good name. Today, a lawyer on Bartee’s behalf, filed a lawsuit against a man who Bartee claims set him up. The suit, seeking actual and punitive damages, names Nicholas Blackwell defendant. As a Republican, Bartee had waged a campaign for Oconee Sheriff and then briefly flirted with running for the State Senate. He’s accusing Blackwell of fabricating a claim that Bartee had sought to kidnap a third party as a result of other civil litigation aimed at derailing Bartee’s run for Sheriff.