“Baton Bob” Jamerson today accused the Atlanta Police Department of violating his constitutional rights during a June 26 arrest in Midtown's Colony Square. He made the claim in a message posted to his personal Facebook page.
Jamerson's arrest came on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court released rulings on two cases involving same-sex marriage rights. News of Jamerson's arrest quickly made the rounds through local news outlets.
Jamerson says the real story of how the arrest happened, and how he was treated while in custody, shows an anti-gay bias at the Atlanta Police Department and a disregard for civil liberties and constitutional rights.
Baton Bob appears to be having a hard go of it lately.
The self-proclaimed Ambassador of Mirth, Baton Bob, whose real name is Bob Jamerson, is known for his salty language and has never hid it before. And for the Fourth of July he was out celebrating his independence when he posted to his Facebook page he was angered by a "white lesbian bitch" who apparently asked for a photo during a performance.
And it goes downhill from there.
"Baton Bob" Jamerson is out of jail after being arrested Wednesday, but a trip to the slammer stemming from an altercation with security guards and police in Midtown Atlanta hasn't convinced the gay street performer to either hold his tongue or halt his act.
"I am not breaking any law," Jamerson told Project Q Atlanta today. "They are infringing on my civil rights and civil liberties and if they think I will take it, hell to the fucking no. I will fuck you up. I will not play that game."
Just after 2 p.m. on Friday, Jamerson posted on Facebook that he is headed back to Midtown to resume his baton twirling.
The gay man known as Baton Bob who loves to twirl a baton in a tutu while strutting Atlanta's streets was arrested today by the Atlanta Police Department after an alleged altercation with a security guard at Colony Square in Midtown.
APD spokesperson Carlos Campos explained what happened in a statement this evening:
"The preliminary information available on this incident seems to indicate that Bob Jamerson, who performs on the street as 'Baton Bob,' was arrested around noon today after reports of a verbal altercation with security guards at 1197 Peachtree Street. An off-duty Atlanta Police officer working for Midtown Blue was called and made the arrest. Arrest warrants were secured from a Magistrate Court judge and Mr. Jamerson was charged with simple assault and obstruction of a law enforcement officer," he said.
Bob Jamerson is ready to take Baton Bob national.
“I want to become a household name like Lady Gaga. They won’t even know who that heifer is by the time I’m through. And I don’t even sing,” Jamerson said, howling with laughter.
What Jamerson does do — as his character Baton Bob — is march to the beat of his own drummer through the streets of Atlanta, blowing a whistle and twirling his baton with the grace of a college majorette.
Jamerson is set to tell the story of Baton Bob through “The Myrtle Hat Tour,” a one-man performance that combines the stories of his mother’s many church hats into the story of how Baton Bob came to be. The tour is named for his mother, Myrtle Redd Jamerson.