Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood is edgy and urban, yet it has a small-town feel. But its tolerant vibe is being tested. Business owners say a man some call “Machete Man” is scaring off customers.

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“I pass him. I immediately get alarmed,” salon owner Kelsey Womack told the FOX 5 I-Team. {snip}

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But, however, it didn’t add up to breaking the law.

Atlanta police, neighbors say, have been called repeatedly since he moved in this summer next door to the hair salon and to a candy shop.

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That guy is Brandon Barkley who the FOX 5 I-Team caught up with on the phone. He said his daily routine of swinging knives is a religious routine. Nothing more. He said he’s “a passionate person who talks about God.”

Brandon Barkley

His passion, Womack said, is getting in the way of her business.

“He was threatening to hurt my clients if they parked in front of my house which he did not rightfully own.”

Barkley is accused of being a squatter by Invitation Homes management. {snip}

Invitation Homes filed to evict him in July, but the pandemic has slowed the process. {snip}

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Then there was a tipping point. Caught on the business surveillance camera, the Machete Man was carrying a new weapon. He told passersby it was a stun gun.

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Then 33-year-old Brandon Barkley pulled out something that callers to 911 believed was a gun. On Aug. 19, Atlanta police finally arrested him. He was charged with aggravated assault, a felony.

Invitation Homes changed the front door lock, put up a no trespassing notice, but the relief was short-lived. Days later Barkley, still holding a key to the backdoor, he said, was out on bond, back in the home with knives out.

He assured us he owns the home, has the keys, and that his knife performances are part of his journey to becoming an angel.

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