Krista Bokhari alleges unethical conduct by Charlotte officials in chief payment
The wife of former Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari said she has evidence of unethical and potentially illegal activity by the city council related to the council reportedly approving a six-figure payment to the police chief after he threatened to sue the city.
Krista Bokhari said on Facebook Thursday afternoon that city leaders, including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, City Manager Marcus Jones and Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox, withheld information from council members in order to approve a legal settlement with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings over his dispute with Tariq Bokhari.
The post followed a Wednesday news conference where Mayor Vi Lyles said she was unaware of any unethical behavior by the council and she supported Jennings.
“With the unprecedented actions taken by the Council and City leadership recently and the call by several leaders to provide evidence of unethical, immoral, and potentially even illegal activities that are occurring in the City of Charlotte…I seem to be the only person that can actually provide answers to that call,” Krista Bokhari wrote. “I am no longer willing to be silent.”
Bokhari said she made the post publicly because she does not trust the city attorney to properly investigate the situation since he’s directly involved in it.
The Charlotte Observer reached out to a city spokesperson to offer city officials a chance to comment on the allegations in the post, but did not receive any comment Thursday. On Friday, he said officials had no further comment.
Fox on Friday appeared to walk back his assertion that leaking closed session details could trigger criminal penalties.
Tariq Bokhari, a Republican and four-term representative for south Charlotte, officially resigned April 28 to become deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. That evening, the city council met in a closed session to discuss what resulted in the drama now unfolding.
Here is what Krista Bokhari alleged in her 2,567-word Facebook post.
‘Withholding of critical information’
WFAE previously reported Tariq Bokhari had sent text messages in 2024 to Jennings that threatened to tarnish his legacy and push for his resignation.
Citing anonymous sources, Observer news partner WSOC first reported May 2 on an ethics complaint made against Tariq Bokhari that had not previously been publicly disclosed.
Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, filed the complaint with the city against him in January over his treatment of Jennings.
In her post, Krista Bokhari alleges Lyles and Fox failed to disclose to city council members in a closed session that the complaint from Mack had already been dismissed. Krista Bokhari alleged the city leaders convinced council members to agree to a settlement with Jennings despite no new evidence and no lawsuit.
Mack’s ethics complaint stemmed from a disagreement in 2024 between Jennings and Tariq Bokhari over bulletproof vests for CMPD officers. Tariq Bokhari actively campaigned for the “outer carrier” vests on social media and on a personal website, while Jennings offered reasons why he didn’t like those particular vests for his officers. Eventually, Jennings quietly changed course.
Krista Bokhari alleged that council members were unaware two top aides to Jennings assisted Mack in writing the complaint. WSOC reported this week that the aides advised Mack on what to include, and her complaint included instances of near-identical wording to emails sent by the aides.
Krista Bokhari also claims the aides instructed Mack to submit a public records request to obtain the text messages between Jennings and Tariq Bokhari. She said WSOC learned of the aides’ involvement when Mack accidentally forwarded an email to the station.
The city previously cleared the aides of wrongdoing, saying they were allowed to voice their opinions as private citizens. Krista Bokhari questioned whether the city manager and city attorney conducted a comprehensive investigation.
Settlement recommended without legal grounds
Bokhari wrote in her post that the settlement was recommended to council members by the city attorney without legal grounds, since no lawsuit had been filed by Jennings. She wrote that Jennings’ request was for over $300,000. The chief earns $280,334 annually.
She also said there is no basis for a defamation lawsuit since the messages between Jennings and her husband were sent privately and Tariq Bokhari did not knowingly spread any false information.
Krista Bokhari said Jennings had no grounds for legal complaints concerning the work environment because Tariq Bokhari was solely motivated by the disagreement over the bulletproof vests rather than any protected characteristics like race or gender.
It’s unclear how much the council approved to pay Jennings because city leaders haven’t released the number or public records yet.
‘Improperly used procedural technicality’
After the closed session vote on a settlement by the council on April 28, it was thought at the time to fail.
But a week later, during a closed session on May 5, council members were informed the April 28 vote was later determined to have passed because a council member’s unexcused absence counted as a yes vote for the settlement, WSOC reported.
Krista Bokhari also alleged on Facebook that a council member wanted to change their vote on May 5 but was “aggressively” told they were unable to since the vote had already taken place a week prior. Bokhari did not specify the source for that information and other allegations in her post.
“The City of Charlotte had no legal exposure to a claim by Chief Jennings, yet Vi Lyles, Marcus Jones and Anthony Fox relied on an improperly used procedural technicality and these additional tactics (disregard for the rule of law and dissenting opinions) to approve taxpayer dollars for their friend, and in doing so performed the unethical, immoral and potentially illegal actions they are now exposed to,” she wrote.
‘False legal advice with the intent of intimidating’
Krista Bokhari alleged that Fox, in the closed meeting with council May 5, told council members that leaking information from closed session was a criminal offense. Fox reiterated this claim during the city’s Wednesday news conference, saying the leaks violate open meeting laws and constitute a misdemeanor.
Bokhari said leaking closed session information is only a criminal offense when someone publicly shares a personnel file, and no such file was the subject of the leaks or the closed session discussions. She called Fox’s statement “false legal (advice) with the intent of intimidating.”
Fox said Friday in a statement to reporters issued by a city spokesperson he meant to say a person “could be subject to criminal sanctions” if they share information from a personnel file under state privacy law.
The council voted in December to hire Fox as interim city attorney after forcing out city attorney Patrick Baker.
Krista Bokhari is among people who have applied for appointment to her husband’s vacant council seat. In her Facebook post, she said she realized her post would diminish her chances.
Staff writer Mary Ramsey contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
