The Democratic mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey, says the county prosecutor knew that he was innocent of allegations that he physically beat his daughter and that charges were pursued against him anyway as part of a conspiracy with other Republican officials to unseat him.

Mayor Marty Small Sr., who was acquitted by a jury in December, alleged in the lawsuit filed Tuesday that his “overwhelming victory” in the mayoral election and his race led prosecutor William E. Reynolds to conspire with other politicians “for the purpose of removing him from office.”

Small is Atlantic City’s fourth Black mayor. His wife, La’Quetta Small, who is also a plaintiff, is the city’s first Black female school superintendent. Charges against La’Quetta Small were dropped after her husband’s acquittal.

The suit alleges that his daughter told detectives that her claims that her parents had abused her were not true and that the prosecutor went ahead with the charges anyway. It says Reynolds made “a public spectacle,” with SWAT team officers, battering rams, and assault weapons while executing a search warrant at the mayor’s house.

The suit alleges that Reynolds was seeking national publicity through that search warrant.

Atlantic City High School principal Constance Days-Chapman, a family friend of the Smalls and the mayor’s campaign manager, is also a plaintiff in the suit. She was charged with official misconduct for allegedly failing to report the daughter’s allegations to the state, but charges against her were also dropped.

The suit alleges Reynolds was further motivated by a desire to become New Jersey’s acting attorney general and thought a high-profile prosecution would help him achieve that.

“The filing of criminal charges against Mayor Small was not in the pursuit of law and justice,” the lawsuit states. “It was instead defendant Reynolds’ agenda to unseat Mayor Small for his own political and financial gain and because of Mayor Small’s race.”

An e-mailed response from an unnamed spokesperson for the prosecutor said: “We have not been served yet. No comment,” adding, “We need to review with the OAG office who will be representing the office.”

The lawsuit says the Smalls were subjected to rampant publicity that “defamed their characters and harmed their reputation for more than two years,” as well as subjecting them to threats on social media, as a result of the prosecution.

The filing of charges against the mayor also resulted in then-Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, calling for Small to step down, the suit notes.

It says Chapman was suspended for two years, and lost positions at Stockton University and with the local Democratic Party.

The suit alleges that Detective Ryan Ripley, also named as a defendant, told Reynolds more than once that the claims of abuse from their teenaged daughter were false.

But the prosecutor pursued the prosecution anyway, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit says the daughter’s boyfriend, who prosecutors said recorded some of the alleged abuse when he was listening over the phone, was coerced to give them information in exchange for $1,500 Balenciaga sneakers and an iPhone.

The boyfriend was ultimately not called to testify at trial.

The suit alleges that their daughter, who is now 18 and recently graduated from Atlantic City High, was told she could be arrested if she did not testify, and that the charges would not lead to her father being sent to state prison.

On the morning of her testimony, the lawsuit alleges, their daughter vomited three times “and was given an unknown medication that adversely affected her health.”

Small was ultimately acquitted on Dec. 18, and sworn in for another term as mayor on New Year’s Day. He has said he and his wife have reconciled with his daughter. Small had contended since the beginning that the matter with their daughter was a family problem and denied beating his daughter. Both Small and his daughter testified at trial.

The prosecutor has filed a tort claim suggesting that he may file suit against Small for comments made following the acquittal.

The lawsuit says the Smalls and Chapman have suffered “substantial and continuing injuries and damages, both economic and non-economic.”

The suit seeks an unspecified amount in damages. It was filed by the law firm of Louis and Jordan Barbone, which also represented Small at trial.

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