SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A prominent Springdale activist sued a city councilperson for defamation, calling certain campaign flyers targeting him false and a hit on his character.
Rick Evans serves Ward 2, and he’s running against Kevin Flores, one of several Hispanic candidates vying for a spot on the council. Evans’ campaign staff printed flyers that tried to connect Flores and other minority candidates to Irvin Camacho, a vocal community activist.
The flyer shared several statements made by Camacho on his social media pages and called him an, “outspoken anti-police protester.” Camacho’s lawyer Victor Rojas said this label, among others in the claim, are false, and Camacho sued Evans for defamation, false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress, outrage and civil conspiracy.
“All of the potential city council candidates of color were called out for connections with Irvin Camacho,” Rojas said. “It’s clearly a race issue.”
Camacho seeks to receive damages in the form of financial compensation and a public retraction from Evans. Evans declined to comment for this story and has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.
