LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Mayor Randall Weddle of London, Kentucky, is at the center of controversy once again. On Thursday, he held an invitation-only press conference at a local venue to address a new defamation lawsuit filed against him.
“I could walk away from this and stop fighting like other politicians have, but I’m not going to,” Weddle stated firmly. “They want to silence me, file the lawsuit, hope that I shut up.”
The defamation suit, filed by former Kentucky State Police troopers Johnny and Jimmy Phelps, stems from comments Weddle made on a podcast. The troopers claim Weddle implied they were corrupt and involved in child sex crimes.
Weddle did not shy away from defending his statements.
“I have been standing for four years trying to fight a corrupt system down here that has been controlled by a pedo-clan, that’s what they are,” he said.
He argued that he has been a target since taking office and accused the Phelps brothers of manipulating the media to tarnish his image.
“They’re burning you up wanting you to come down here and make me look bad, look corrupt when the actions really if you get into Facebook and see they girls saying they did this to me,” Weddle claimed.
His attorney, Jeremy Bryant, issued a stark warning to the plaintiffs.
“I just want to say if you go down the rabbit hole past 5 p.m. tomorrow – we’re going down that rabbit hole and will find everything that’s in it,” Bryant cautioned.
When contacted by LEX 18, Jimmy Phelps was resolute.
“Hell no, we’re not dropping our lawsuit,” he said.
