Pericles Abbasi
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. (July 2023) |
Pericles Abbasi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984 (age 39–40) Aurora, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Perry Abbasi |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Pericles "Perry" Abbasi (born 1984) is an American lawyer and online personality.
Early life
[edit]Pericles Abbasi was born in Aurora, Illinois, to a Pakistani father and a Greek mother. Pericles' father was a Muslim from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and belonged to the Dhund Abbasi caste.[1]
Abbasi attended the University of Chicago, earning his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees before moving on to Kent College of Law for a Juris Doctor degree.[2] At the University of Chicago, Abbasi was awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He also filmed a local hip-hop show and competed in national quiz bowl competitions.[2]
Work as a lawyer
[edit]After graduating and passing the bar exam, Abbasi worked as an elections attorney and won cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Illinois, the Illinois Appellate Court and various electoral boards. His legal practice also focused on zoning, property tax appeals and real estate closings.
Abbasi led a challenge to the signatures (nearly 3,200 signatures) collected by the Kanye West 2020 presidential campaign in Illinois.[3] Upon review, the Illinois State Board of Elections determined that the West campaign did not have the required minimum amount of signatures and did not qualify for the presidential ballot.[4]
In 2023, the City of Chicago held elections for 22 newly created police district councils, one for each of the city's police districts. Abbasi supported the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police in these elections, legally representing several of their preferred candidates.[5][6]
Social media activity
[edit]Between 2020 and 2023, Abbasi posted prolifically on Twitter, averaging roughly 70 tweets per day. He went from under a thousand followers in 2020 to 24,000 in January 2023. His posts were described by Malcom Kyeyune as often "bizarre and unseemly" and as having "little grounding in reality".[7] Abbasi described one ongoing Twitter gag where he posed as an "alpha male" who was also a "closeted homosexual."[8]
Candidacies and Public Scrutiny
[edit]Abbasi was a candidate in the 2023 election for one of the three seats on the newly formed Grand Central (25th) Police District Council.
During his campaign, an article in the Chicago Reader highlighted Abbasi's social media posts, which they described as containing "racist and misogynist" content. This included one tweet in which Abbasi referenced a criminal stereotype of African Americans, writing, "I've said in spaces that the horrible black american diet is the reason for 13/50!"[8] Writing for UnHerd, blogger Malcom Kyeyune wrote that Abbasi is "so irony-poisoned from years of hard posting that the pain of drowning will be nothing short of sweet relief from his need to respond to likes and notifications".[7] In response to the reporting on his social media history, the Chicago West Side chapter of the NAACP called for Abbasi to be disbarred.[9]
Abbasi came in fifth out of five candidates, securing 8.6 percent of the vote.[8] Some of his supporters have claimed the election was rigged.
Electoral History
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Angelica Green | 12,568 | 28.1 | |
| Nonpartisan | Saúl Arellano | 11,433 | 25.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacob Arena | 9,008 | 20.2 | |
| Nonpartisan | Edgar Esparza | 7,837 | 17.5 | |
| Nonpartisan | Perry Abbasi | 3,828 | 8.6 | |
| Total votes | 44,674 | 100.0 | ||
Personal life
[edit]Abbasi's Chicago-area home was ransacked after the 2018 Christmas holiday.[10] As of 2023, Abbasi was engaged (to a woman).[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Abbasi, Pericles 'Perry' [@ElectionLegal] (January 8, 2024). "My father is from Kashmir, I'm half Desi" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Honors Scholar Program: Pericles Abbasi". Chicago-Kent College of Law. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ "Chicago Attorney Doubts Kanye West Will Appear On Illinois Ballot". Chicago, IL Patch. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ Neumann, Sean (July 23, 2020). "Kanye West Campaign Faces New Challenges in Illinois: 'I Don't Think He's Ready'". People. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ Savchenko, Anna (December 28, 2018). "Chicago's biggest police union is spending money to win power on new oversight councils". WBEZ. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
At the hearing, Abbasi said he was representing eight people in district council races. State records show he received a $10,000 payment from the police union in early December. Abbasi is also running as a candidate in the 25th police district in Grand Central on the northwest side and said the union helped him collect signatures to get on the ballot.
- ^ Bradley, Tahman; Smith, Andrew (December 7, 2023). "Chicago voters to choose police district representatives for first time ever in February". WGN-TV. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c Kyeyune, Malcom (February 7, 2023). "How the Online Right gave up on reality". UnHerd. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c Daley, Jim (January 19, 2023). "Police district candidate's social media full of racist and misogynist posts". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ Michelle, Meyer (February 19, 2023). "Westside NAACP calling on 25th Police District candidate to be disbarred". AustinTalks. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ Kim, Katie (December 28, 2018). "Man Who Says Home Was Ransacked After Christmas Pushes Back on CPD Announcement of Reduced Crime". WMAQ-TV. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2023.