In an escalation of tension over the COVID-19 response on Thursday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over a mask mandate.

Kemp claims that his July 15 executive order made it clear that masks are strongly encouraged but not mandated. Kemp’s order prohibits local governments from instituting mandates more restrictive than state guidelines.

Further, this comes one day after Kemp suspended all mask mandates in the state. Kemp claimed that Bottoms did nothing to enforce the executive order. The lawsuit further asserts that Bottoms exercised power beyond that delegated to her by the state.

Under Bottoms’ order, a person not wearing a mask is subject to fines and potentially up to six months in jail. Bottoms responded to the lawsuit on Twitter: “A better use of tax payer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing.”

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson weighed in on the dispute, speaking to CNN. Johnson reacted, saying he “was furious” and “lost for words.” He continued, “We are doing the best that we can, day in and day out. … Not only are we fighting coronavirus on one hand, but it appears as if we are fighting our state on the other.”

As of Friday morning, Georgia has had more than 120,000 cases of COVID-19. More than 3000 people have died.