UNC seeks to keep "research project collaboration" records secret | Chapel Hill parent blocked by school district Twitter/X account | Cary J6 defendant found guilty
No. 57 — Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2024
UNC claims "research project collaborations" are exempt from public records statute in COVID-19 origins investigation lawsuit
UNC has filed a memo in a public records lawsuit brought by U.S. Right to Know, claiming that records of research project collaborations (including with the Wuhan Institute of Virology) are exempt from the NC public records statute.
As we reported in November, the judge overseeing the case has appointed a "special master" to review the records which UNC has refused to provide to USRTK in response to the public records requests the organization submitted as part of their investigation into the origins of COVID-19:
Chapel Hill parent blocked by official school district Twitter/X account
A parent and outspoken critic of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools leadership has been blocked by the district’s official Twitter/X account, according to a screenshot shared by the user, Kevin Klosty.
Klosty has publicly disagreed and criticized with the school board and district leadership on topics ranging from COVID policies to the plagiarism by the district's superintendent Nyah Hamlett.
The combative relationship escalated last year, when Hamlett filed for a no-contact order against Klosty and his recently graduated son Hunter. However, Hamlett dropped the case before the Klostys had an opportunity to dispute Hamlett's claims of "harassment" in the court system (although you can read the letter by the Klostys' attorney in response to Hamlett's allegations).
Generally, courts have found that the first amendment prevents government actors from banning citizens from a public forum based on the content of their speech. Although the district's Social Media Engagement Guidelines claim that the district's Twitter/X account constitutes a "moderated discussion board" instead of a "public forum", it's extremely dubious to me whether this distinction would hold up in court.
I expect more information/evidence to be coming out regarding the Klostys and CHCCS in the future.
Incumbent NC Superintendent of Public Instruction interrupts speech for opponent at JoCo GOP meeting
According to multiple witnesses, a video from a Johnston County GOP meeting this week captures NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt interrupting a speech for Michelle Morrow, her opponent in the GOP primary, before "storming out".
Johnston County School Board member Michelle Antoine was speaking in support of Morrow, highlighting that Truitt "created an Office of Equity" and "wants to get rid of magnet schools".
I have reached out to Superintendent Truitt, and I plan to release a full article on the situation and the factual basis of the claims after giving her a chance to response.
Cary J6 defendant found guilty of assault, etc.
NC man who helped lead first Jan. 6 Capitol attack found guilty of multiple offenses - N&O
Cary man found guilty of assault, was at leading edge of Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol - WRAL
Five Men Found Guilty of Multiple Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions Related to Jan. 6 Capitol Breach - Press Release
James Tate Grant, of Cary, was found guilty of multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to the Capitol Riot on January 6th, including obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting an officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon (in Grant's case, a piece of metal fencing).
Grant was one of the first two men to begin the rioting on January 6th by crossing the first line of fencing and assaulting police at the perimeter of Capitol Grounds. This occurred at approximately 12:50 pm, while President Trump was still speaking over a mile away. The assault included Grant and his co-defendants pushing a line of metal "bicycle rack fencing" into the few police officers defending the line (pictured below):
As an aside, Grant's assault occurred within minutes of the first "pipe bombs" being discovered nearby. Although many, like former Capitol Police Steven Sund, believe that the these devices were intended to distract police resources from responding to the riot, law enforcement has not been able to identify any link between the unidentified individual who left the devices and those who concomitantly kicked off the Capitol Riot by moving barricades and assaulting police. (Although, based on whistleblower testimony, it seems extremely likely that the FBI does or could know the identity of this unidentified individual).
Yeah, Klosty should be blocked. He's an obsessive and impossibly stupid man who started all of this because he's an anti mask idiot who taught his kid to be an anti mask idiot.