American lawyer and online personality (born 1984)
Pericles Abbasi
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Born
| 1984 (age 39–40)
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Other names
| Perry Abbasi
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Education
| |
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Occupation
| Lawyer
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Pericles "Perry" Abbasi
(born 1984) is an American lawyer and online personality.
Early life
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
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 collected by the
Kanye West 2020 presidential campaign
in Illinois. 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]
Social media activity
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".
[6]
Abbasi described one ongoing Twitter gag where he posed as an "
alpha male
" who was also a "closeted homosexual."
[7]
Run for office and controversy
Abbasi ran for office in 2023, looking to secure one of three seats representing 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!"
[7]
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".
[6]
In response to the reporting on his social media history, the Chicago West Side chapter of the
NAACP
called for Abbasi to be disbarred.
[8]
Abbasi came in fifth out of five candidates, securing less than nine percent of the vote.
Personal life
Abbasi's Chicago-area home was ransacked after the 2018 Christmas holiday.
[9]
As of 2023, Abbasi was engaged to a woman.
[6]
References
- ^
Abbasi, Pericles 'Perry' [@ElectionLegal] (Jan 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
.
- ^
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
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
.