Athens mayor resigns after Thursday arrest

ATHENS, Texas (KLTV) - Athens Mayor James Monte Montgomery has tendered his resignation “effective immediately.”

The announcement came via a Facebook post from the City of Athens on Friday afternoon. Montgomery was arrested Thursday as part of a multi-agency sting operation targeting suspects who were allegedly attempting to solicit sex from minors online. Montgomery was arrested and charged with online solicitation of a minor. He was released on a $300,000 bond.

The City of Athens’ Facebook post indicated the search to replace Montgomery would begin swiftly.

“According to the Athens City Charter, as stated in Section 3: “Any vacancy or vacancies occurring in the city council shall be filled by appointment of a majority vote of the remaining city council within thirty (30) days, which person or persons so appointed shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term for the place or places to which such appointment shall be made,” the post said. “We continue to be shocked and grieved by the developments of the past 24 hours. Our primary responsibility is to the citizens of Athens and the betterment of our community.”

Previous reporting:

Athens mayor arrested Thursday for online solicitation of minor

Four arrested on charges of online solicitation of minor via multi-agency sting operation

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