Ex-security guard vows to sue Atlanta city councilwoman after cemetery fight and firing

ATLANTA – A former Atlanta security guard said he lost his job following an altercation at Oakland Cemetery involving Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari. For the first time since the attack, this guard spoke up.

Antony Montfort said he was following his supervisor’s orders when he confronted Councilman Bakhtiari and her friends, who were having a surprise wedding at the cemetery, around 8:30 p.m. on October 4. Montfort told police that the cemetery was closed, so he approached the group in the dark shouting, “Pack it up, pack it up!” It’s time to go.”

The Oakland Cemetery website states that the site is “open morning to evening year-round.”

According to Montfort’s account, at that point the council member became aggressive and pushed him.

“She pushed me because I said, ‘Lady, get out of my face.’ She pushed me,” Montfort claimed, also explaining that Bakhtiari knocked his hat off his head. “I don’t care if I scream in your face…You still had no right to put your hands on me.”

In an exclusive interview with FOX 5 Atlanta, he claimed he never touched her.

Another security guard interviewed by police that night confirmed Montfort’s story.

FOX 5 Atlanta reached out to Councilmember Bakhtiari over the weekend to take her side, but she could not be reached for comment.

Still, her reaction, as seen on police body camera footage, suggested she believed Montfort was the real attacker.

Bakhtiari and her group said they were enjoying a picnic and taking photos of the sunset when they noticed a man aggressively approaching them with a lit cigarette. This man was later identified as Montfort.

In her statement to police, Bakhtiari said she was afraid of Montfort’s aggressive behavior and could not say whether he had a weapon in his hand. She said he blocked her group’s path as she tried to leave. She claimed she pushed him to protect her friends and said the second security guard later helped them leave the cemetery.

In a statement later posted on Instagram, she said she regretted “how the situation developed. I take responsibility for my actions and hope that de-escalation protocols are put in place.”

Montfort said he was fired from the security company and has since been banned from working on any City of Atlanta properties.

“I’m unemployed. I’m unemployed,” Montfort said. “Now I have nothing.”

He said he wanted to take legal action against the security company, the city and Bakhtiari.

“I want them to pay,” he said. “Yes, I’m suing.”