VIDEO - ERICA THOMAS GEORGIA: State representative says she was 'scared for her life' during Publix incident | WSB-TV

ATLANTA - An African American Georgia lawmaker says she was scared for her life during a confrontation with a man inside of a Cobb County grocery store. 

State Rep. Erica Thomas, who represents District 39, recorded an emotional Facebook Live video detailing what she says happened at a Publix in Mableton on Friday.

In a news conference Monday, Thomas explained her version of the events between her and a man waiting in the "15 items of fewer" line.

Thomas said the man confronted her about the amount of items she had, and at one point, Thomas said Eric Sparkes told her to "go back where you came from."

Sparkes told Channel 2 Action News that he ever said anything racist but did admit to cursing at Thomas.

"I was embarrassed, and I was scared for my life," Thomas said in the news conference.

We'll show you the news conference and what the state representative plans to do next, on Channel 2 Action News starting at 4 p.m.

During the news conference, Thomas insisted that she is not changing her story despite interviews where she said, "I don't want to say he said, 'Go back to your country,' or 'Go back to where you came from.' But he was making those types of references is what I remember."

Sparkes sent a statement to Channel 2’s Richard Elliot saying Thomas “turned into a national case about race over night,” and that he is exploring filing a defamation lawsuit.

The man State Rep. Erica Thomas encountered in a grocery store just sent me a statement reacting to her morning newser: “Ms. Thomas has taken an innocuous situation that began on my part to be about being inconsiderate and turned into a national case about race over night....” pic.twitter.com/LnMkQozABx

— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) July 22, 2019

Eric Sparkes’ statement continues: “Ms. Thomas accuses me of telling her to go back to whereever. Those words were never spoken. She backtracked slightly and now is changing her story. I am in the process of exploring with attorneys a defamation lawsuit against her.”

— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) July 22, 2019

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