Attorney Shellon Washington has denied that she is representing activist Melissa Ann Holder, known on social media as Melissa “Melly Mel” Atwell, saying she hopes there is no one attempting to impersonate her.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for Melly Mel’s legal fees, and has raised thousands of US dollars, suggesting that her arrest is related to her activism against the Guyana government. However, arrests by ICE are unrelated to matters of freedom of speech and activism. ICE handles matters related to enforcing US federal laws, including criminal investigations and the removal of individuals who violate immigration laws. ICE also investigates a wide array of transnational crimes, including financial fraud and scams; worksite and employment crimes; cybercrime; intellectual property theft and trade fraud; identity and benefit fraud.
The News Room understands that Melly Mel went to the US on a visitor’s visa and it is unclear if her legal status in the United States was changed. She had claimed in one of her social media posts that she is a U.S. citizen but her arrest by ICE suggests that she is not.
Attorney Washington was quoted by the Stabroek News as confirming that she is representing Melly Mel, but the attorney has since denied this, saying the article is false.
“I never spoke to anyone from Stabroek News. I would like to make it public that I am not representing Ms. Atwell in any matter related to her arrest.
“I was retained in a civil matter currently before the Esatern District Court of New York. I encourage Stabroek News to correct any misinformation in its article. I also hope that there’s no one out there attempting to impersonate me,” Washington stated in a post on Facebook.
Stabroek News could not immediately address Washington’s post. It’s editor-in-chief Anand Persaud said he will address the issue on Tuesday.
Melly Mel has been detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is currently in a detention facility in Louisiana.
Melly Mel was arrested last Thursday by US authorities in New York. There is no public statement by ICE about why she was arrested and what charges she is facing.
The US ICE online detainee locator system shows that Melly Mel remains in detention at the Richwood Correctional Centre, Louisiana.
The post Attorney says not representing Melly Mel – Stabroek News report false appeared first on News Room Guyana.
