• Ja’Quon Stembridge stepped down as assistant secretary after confrontation video circulated online
• Social media posts include alleged text message screenshots from dating app conversation
• State party chairman calls allegations “serious and disturbing” but emphasizes presumption of innocence

ATLANTA, GA (TDR) — A young Black Georgia Republican Party leader resigned from his post after just months on the job amid online allegations of being a child predator. Ja’Quon Stembridge stepped down as the GOP’s state party assistant secretary this past weekend after a video of him being confronted for allegedly meeting a 14-year-old boy began circulating on social media.

Confrontation Video Goes Viral

In the footage, Stembridge frantically pleads with a man recording him in a parking lot. The 19-year-old insists he is 17 and repeatedly asks the person to stop filming. Social media accounts that posted the video include alleged screenshots of text messages between Stembridge and the teen boy on a dating app.

Text messages reviewed from the incident reportedly show Stembridge communicating with the minor and asking to meet even after the boy’s age was revealed. During the confrontation, the person recording demands Stembridge take responsibility for his actions.

“You know what I was doing. Bruh,” Stembridge can be heard saying in the video after initially denying the allegations.

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The decoy insisted Stembridge delete his dating profile, telling him the behavior was unacceptable. Stembridge, with hands raised, appeared to surrender as the confrontation continued in Athens, Georgia.

Party Leadership Responds

Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon confirmed Stembridge’s departure in a statement, calling the allegations “serious and disturbing.” However, McKoon emphasized that Stembridge remains presumed innocent unless adjudicated guilty in a court of law.

“As Mr. Stembridge has resigned from his position within the GAGOP, any further development in this situation is entirely his own affair and does not involve the GAGOP,” McKoon added. The party announced it would fill the vacancy according to its bylaws.

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Stembridge and his attorney, Ron Daniels, declined to comment on the resignation or allegations. Following the incident, Stembridge removed his social media accounts from public view.

Historic Rise Cut Short

In July, Stembridge became the youngest-ever elected member of the State Executive Committee of the Georgia Republican Party at just 18 years old. The University of North Georgia political science major spent his freshman year campaigning for the assistant secretary position on a platform of engaging young voters with the conservative movement.

Stembridge had hailed his election as a victory against stereotypes about the Republican Party. “That party of rich white men overwhelmingly elected the 18-year-old Black guy named Ja’Quon,” he said at the time. “You’ve never seen that happen in the Republican Party.”

No arrests or charges have been filed in connection with the incident.

Will the allegations against Stembridge prompt broader discussions about vetting processes for young political leaders?

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