Pericles Abbasi
American lawyer and online personality (born 1984) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pericles "Perry" Abbasi (born 1984) is an American lawyer and online personality.
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. (July 2023) |
Pericles Abbasi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984 (age 40–41) Aurora, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Perry Abbasi |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Early life
Pericles Abbasi was born in Aurora, Illinois, to a Pakistani father and a Greek mother.
Abbasi attended the University of Chicago, where he was awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, and Kent College of Law of the Illinois Institute of Technology.[1]
Work as a lawyer
Abbasi led a challenge to the signatures collected by the Kanye West 2020 presidential campaign in Illinois.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4][5]
In 2024, Abbasi represented candidates Casundra Hopson-Jordan and D'Nasha Lee Harrison of the Rebuilding Dolton Party. Demarkus Griggley, an ally of embattled Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, attempted to have both candidates removed from the elections ballot due to the party's failure to meet certain requirements in the Illinois Election Code. Griggley ultimately withdrew his objection, allowing both candidates to have a spot on the ballot.[6]
Social media activity
Abbasi uses Twitter. He described one ongoing Twitter gag where he posed as an "alpha male" who was also a "closeted homosexual."[7]
Candidacies and Public Scrutiny
Abbasi was a candidate in the 2023 election for one of the three seats on the newly formed Grand Central (25th) Police District Council. He was paid $10,000 by the Fraternal Order of Police, and unsuccessfully challenged progressive candidates' ballot petitions on the FOP's behalf. The police union also endorsed Abbasi's candidacy, attempting to run him as a spoiler against abolitionist candidates.[8]
During his campaign, the Chicago Reader highlighted Abbasi's social media posts with racist and misogynist content. In one tweet, Abbasi referenced a criminal stereotype of African Americans.[7] In another, he wrote that a bar owner he’d helped with liquor licensing had provided him with "Polish girls" who may have been "trafficked." In response to the Reader's reporting, the Chicago West Side chapter of the NAACP called for Abbasi to be disbarred, and several campaign committees Abbasi had worked for disavowed him.[9]
Abbasi came in last place out of five candidates, securing just 8.6 percent of the vote.[7]
Electoral History
| 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
Abbasi claimed that his home was ransacked after the 2018 Christmas holiday.[10]
References
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