History in Georgia: Booker, Lyons named state’s first Black women U.S. attorneys
By CHRISTINA NORRIS
Last month, two federal prosecutors made history as the first Black women appointed to serve as U.S. attorneys in Georgia.
Shanelle Booker and Tara Lyons were named acting U.S. attorneys for the Middle and Southern Districts, respectively. They will serve until their successors are appointed by the Justice Department and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Booker, appointed on Jan. 12, is the first Black U.S. attorney for Georgia’s Middle District.
She is now the top-ranking federal law enforcement official covering 70 Georgia counties, including the cities of Albany, Athens, Columbus, Macon, and Valdosta.
“It is an honor for me to serve the citizens of the Middle District of Georgia in this leadership role and to ensure the good work of the office continues seamlessly,” Booker said in a statement. “Upholding justice and ensuring the safety of all is our office’s utmost objective, alongside our strong law enforcement and community partners across the Middle District of Georgia.”
Booker was raised in the Atlanta suburb of Riverdale and graduated from Clayton County schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law. Booker has been an adjunct professor teaching criminal justice at Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2020. She is a member of Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., as well as a former board member of the Central Georgia Empowerment Fund.
Booker is active in her community and focuses on working with young people. She mentors at the Macon Regional Youth Detention Center through the Girl Squad Mentoring Program and the United Way of Central Georgia’s Read United Program. Booker also regularly leads critical training for the law enforcement community on topics such as firearm conversion devices, drug trafficking, and other areas of concern.
Lyons, appointed acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia on Jan. 18, has had a 20-year career with the Justice Department, serving as a law clerk for Henry F. Floyd, a public defender in Richland County, South Carolina; an attorney advisor for the U.S. Attorneys Executive Office; an assistant U.S. attorney in South Carolina; and a deputy chief in Georgia. She previously had served as the first assistant U.S. attorney in Georgia since April 2023.
As acting U.S. attorney, Lyons is the chief federal law enforcement officer for 43 counties, including the cities of Savannah, Augusta, and Brunswick. She leads a team of more than 70 attorneys and staff in prosecuting federal crimes in the district.
Lyons has handled several cases involving violent crimes, human trafficking, child pornography, and civil rights violations. In January 2024, she won the 70th Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, the second-highest award within the agency, for her contributions to the high-profile Ahmaud Arbery case. Three white men were convicted of murder and federal hate crimes in the racially motivated shooting death of Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, near Brunswick, Ga., in 2020.
