MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For the first time, a Memphis mayoral candidate accused of vandalizing the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue is speaking out, and you will not believe what he had to say.
Leo Awgowhat made his first appearance before a judge Monday.
Awgowhat agreed to talk to WREG outside the courtroom. He is known for being eccentric, but nothing could have prepared us for what came out of his mouth.
“Awgowhat? Awgo f*** yourself! That’s what,” Leo Awgowhat told a WREG photographer.
Awgowhat claimed he was abused as a child, and that has led to some mental issues.
“I have what they refer to as dissociative identity disorder, multiple personalities,” he said.
He even referred to himself as “we” instead of “me.” He claimed to have three of what he called “imaginary friends.”
“Our brain kind of works different,” Awgowhat told WREG.
Awgowhat said he did not spray paint his own name on the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue but did tell police one of his imaginary friends, named Awgo, wanted to.
“He came up with the idea, but I talked him out of it,” he said. “I wouldn’t take him downtown to do it. He got real mad.”
Awgowhat told us two of his other imaginary friends might be guilty.
“Pookie and Mane Mane were standing on the corner, and they had overheard it,” Awgowhat said. “Pookie was like, ‘F*** that racist son of a b****! I’ll go paint it on that statue!'”
His court date was postponed Monday. Awgowhat said he was eager to get it over with so he can get back to the mayor’s race and his campaign, centered around marijuana.
“I want to start growing pot,” he said. “We’ve got St. Jude. We’ve got LeBonheur. Why aren’t we providing them with cannabis oil to treat the children?”
Awgowhat posted on Facebook that it was Awgo in court Monday, not him.
He’s set to be back in court Sept. 8.
