Donation Threshold

Almost 10 years in and I just know feel comfortable asking for donations to help continue, grow, and refine the Area Dispatch – Information Exchange. I’m now comfortable with requesting contributions based on the content and discoveries already published, the previously unknown by the majority revelations I am working to publish now, and the offline efforts I’ve made or will make to drive change for the better. The intended purpose of the ‘press,’ and the reason for it being a right captured within the first five protected by the Constitution. A free press is essential in any democracy, and provides another check or balance in addition to the three equal branches of government. The fourth estate…

On February 9, 2015, I purchased the AreaDispatch.com url. Two days later, my vehicle was stopped because I had taken a photograph of a sign in front of the historic Anson County Courthouse, from my parked vehicle, in a parking lot owned by a family friend, and the law enforcement officer who initiated the stop clearly stated that was the reason for the stop. Photography of public property from a public space is a constitutionally protected activity for every person in America. The fact that I was taking the photo for use on a news website I operated provided a heightened level of protection due to the inclusion of the activity within the five rights of the First Amendment. The intent of the protection is so that the activity of what is called the ‘fourth estate’ is not chilled by governmental action against a member of the press.

The stop was, for lack of better terms, a traumatic experience for me. My rights were abridged and I truly felt helpless knowing that with all of my affirmations and demands for counsel going completely ignored as though I wasn’t speaking, I was faced with no viable options to stop the injustice I was withstanding and remain alive. I remember seeing his approach of my vehicle, and how his hand was kept on his pistol the entire distance from his Explorer to my Civic. He did accidentally separated his hand from his pistol momentatily when he realized he hadn’t touched my taillight on his approach. Initially reaching with his right hand, then abruptly replacing his hand on his pistol and touching my tail light with his left hand’s thumb. I realized before even one word was exchanged that this officer hadn’t performed a stop in quite some time. As a concealed handgun permit holder with my pistol on me and rifle in plain sight in the backseat, I told myself to be very careful. I knew that if I moved too quickly or made the wrong move, then I would probably end up dead.

I was almost immediately taken out of my car, and told to stand with a Deputy Chapman as the officer initiating the stop ignored everything I said. He asked if he could search my vehicle, and I declined because he had not articulated any unsolicited suspicion or in response to my repeated questions. Everything I said was ignored, even my declination of his request to search. He proceeded with the search against my refusal, and without ever providing reasonable suspicion of a crime. I recall a state trooper briefly arriving at the scene, with the initiating officer interrupting his search to walk over to the trooper’s vehicle briefly, and then the trooper immediately left the scene. I realized after the fact that this was because the trooper’s vehicle was outfitted with a dashcam, and the initiating officer wanted no video evidence of the crimes he was committing.

I knew Deputy Chapman prior to this stop, and had actually gotten to know him well enough to have open conversations with him. At the time, I was managing rental properties and Chapman had been the Sheriff’s Office representative when executing writs of possession on properties I had lawfully evicted the tenants from. Over the two years that I’d been back from Afghanistan and working in this capacity, that was a significant number of evictions he’d assisted me with. I remember him admitting that what was going on was wrong, but he said there was nothing he could do because it was his boss. I did overhear Chapman say to another officer that he wouldn’t have said “that” over the radio, which made me curious about what he was referencing.

After an extended search, I was cuffed and placed under arrest for possession of less than one half ounce of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia. The initiating officer’s request to put my firearms in the trunk I immediately saw through as an attempt to gain access to my trunk. They opened and searched my trunk, then I was asked if Chapman could drive my vehicle up to the jail. He drove my vehicle, and I rode with another deputy. As we approached the jail, I asked who the magistrate was on duty. He replied that it was Weaver Thomas and I gave a sigh. He asked if I didn’t get along with him, and I replied that I got along with him just fine. I mentioned that I’d spoken to Weaver that very morning. Upon arrival at the jail and just after this brief exchange, the deputy I was riding with called the initiating officer for a discussion outside of the vehicle. Just a couple of minutes after the deputy exited the vehicle, my door was opened and I was asked to step out. They began removing the handcuffs and the initiating officer began explaining that they were releasing me with a citation as Deputy Chapman walked up with the citation in hand.

Before I left the jail parking lot, I had a brief private discussion with the initiating officer to tell him that I was going to have to tell Landric Reid, the Sheriff, about what had occurred. I told him that we were going to have to work it out because I didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. I will never get the image of the gold spread eagles on his collar that initially confused me on his rank. I’m prior military and had only ever seen silver spread eagles. I learned when I asked Deputy Chapman when I asked him to stop what was going on that his “boss” who initiated the stop was the fairly recently sworn in Chief Deputy, David Scott Howell.

After driving away from the jail, I pulled into the first gas station I came to and wrote everything I could remember down. I didn’t want to lose any memories, and I knew that I would provide the most accurate account of events right then.

Over the next couple of days, I received a call from a friend who was relaying a message from a mutual friend in law enforcement. The warning was clear: “Don’t carry, be smart, and they think you’re an extremist.” That same day I received another relayed warning from my in-laws saying the same thing. Then there was message related from a friend in law enforcement in another state. All of the messages came from friends in different law enforcement agencies, at least one from another state. The all points bulletin with false allegations about me was undeniable.

On February 15, 2015, two Moore County Sheriff’s deputies came to my front door and provided a letter of revocation for my concealed handgun permit. The deputies had obviously spoken to a friend of mine in their department, and they made it clear they were just doing what they were told. They took possession of my permit and left me with the letter of revocation. No hearing was ever conducted, and Sheriff Neil Godfrey issued the revocation unilaterally without any judicial oversight. If there has been oversight, it would have been easily determined that the allegations made against me were false.

The allegations were enough to concern friends of mine in law enforcement to risk their careers and get a warning to me that probably saved my life. I heeded their warnings and played it very safe, changing all of my normal habits to accommodate the increased threat. In mid-March of 2015, I was driving across country to attend my sister’s wedding in California. I recall stopping for gas in Roswell, NM when I received a call standing at the pump. The caller identified herself as a Special Agent with ICE and a representative with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. She explained that she wanted to meet with me to discuss the incident on February 11. I arranged a meeting at the Waffle House in Wadesboro once I returned, on April 2, 2015.

To Be Continued…