A Montgomery community activist has filed a $100,000 claim against the city’s mayor, saying Steven Reed in February damaged his character by calling him, among other things, a “liar,” “charlatan” and “shyster.”

Charles Lee, the owner of the youth nonprofit That’s My Child, filed the claim with the Montgomery City Clerk’s office on March 30.

It stems from a Feb. 21st news conference that came during an imbroglio between Lee and Reed over comments recorded back in 2020.

In February, a series of audio recordings of Reed were released in which the mayor peppered diatribes with profanity while referencing the Black vote, economic development and apathy toward Maxwell Gunter Air Force Base.

Reed at the time said the audio “features carefully selected sound bites of my voice” and was surreptitiously recorded three years ago.

According to Reed, the sound bites came from a meeting with Lee that took place on June 1, 2020 at the office of the Alabama Democratic Conference in Montgomery as part of meetings with community leaders in an effort to avoid violence in the city following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Reed said he sought out meetings with community leaders to help maintain the peace.

At a news conference, Reed said he would seek an investigation into what he said was an attempt by Lee to extort him of $30,000, ostensibly for his organization. Lee denied making the recording but did not say who was responsible.

In his claim, Lee said Reed made several slanderous statements at his February news conference, such as saying that Lee attempted to extort money from him at the meeting.

Because of Reed’s statements, Lee claims he has suffered “mental anguish” and “damage to my reputation and character.”

In a statement to the Alabama News Network, Reed’s office said, “We have met with the appropriate law enforcement agencies and we will not be able to comment further until all criminal investigations into the attempted extortion of the mayor are complete.”