Chapel Hill virtue signalling | Suspect thiefs kill dialysis patient in getaway | Wake Co. jail guard caught trafficking drugs? | Anti-Tesla weekly protest - report
No. 116 — Mar. 16-Mar. 22, 2025
Chapel Hill takes heat for taking DEI, LGBTQ pages down from website
Chapel Hill restores LGBTQ+, equity web pages. Ex-mayor says MAGA won’t ‘be fooled.’ - N&O
Out of all the cities and towns in North Carolina, Chapel Hill is perhaps the least likely to take its ideological cues from the Trump administration.
Yet, that's exactly what they were accused of this week after pages about the town's commitment to DEI and its "LGBTQ history" were removed from the the town's website, including by the town's former mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.
However, according to the town, the pages were among a seventeen which were archived by a contractor due to the fact that they had received the lowest number of page visits over the prior year.
In response, Mayor Jess Anderson apologized for "send[ing] the wrong signal" and assured concerned citizens that the town still supported the "values we all stand for" (DEI and being gay).
This minor kerfuffle perfectly illustrates why towns put up pages like the "LGBTQ+ History and Community in Chapel Hill." The purpose is not actually to educate the public, it is to "signal" that the town is an ally.
By the community outrage and response, one might suspect that the residents of Chapel Hill are deeply invested in the LGBTQ+ history of the town and the like, yet their actions, speaking louder than words, indicate that this is a fairly superficial value.
IMAGE: Trump-Vance sign in Apex vandalized with swastika - Reddit
Suspected thieves kill 53-year-old in crash fleeing traffic stop, DPD says
1 dead, 4 injured after driver in stolen car causes crash at Durham intersection, police say - ABC11
Man on way to dialysis dies after driver in stolen car collides with one he's riding in Durham - ABC11
'He was always uplifting': Durham man remembered after being killed in crash involving stolen car - WRAL
Durham Police say a group of suspected thieves killed the passenger of a vehicle they crashed into while speeding through a red light to escape an attempted traffic stop.
DPD were responding to a series of car break-ins reported on Mount Mariah Road when the suspect vehicle, a stolen 2020 Kia Soul, was spotted eastbound on Durham Chapel Hill Boulevard.
When an officer attempted a traffic stop, the driver sped off and ran a red light and crashed into a vehicle turning across at the intersection with SW Durham Drive.
The passenger of the vehicle they struck, Jermaine Clement, 53, was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
According to ABC11, Clement was being transported to a dialysis appointment by GoDurham Access, service for riders with disabilities which he used to be a driver for, when the crash occurred.
Out of the three occupants of the stolen vehicle which caused the crash, one sustained life-threatening injures and the other two sustained less serious injuries; as of Friday, charges related to the crash were pending.
Wake County detention officer charged with trafficking drugs to inmates
A detention officer at the John H. Baker, Jr. Public Safety Center was arrested by the Wake County Sheriff's Office during his regular shift on Tuesday and charged with trafficking drugs to inmates.
Devin Lamont Williams (33), faces a number of charges as a result of a "thorough and extensive investigation" triggered by a tip received regarding a guard supplying contraband to inmates:
felony conspire to traffic opium/heroin
felony trafficking opium or heroin
felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or distribute a scheduled II controlled substance
felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or distribute a scheduled VI controlled substance
felony provide contraband to inmate
felony possession of a controlled substance in prison/jail premises
Williams has been with the WCSO since March 2023, and is being held on a bond of $2 million.
Protest Watch
REPORT: 4th weekly anti-Tesla protest holding strong
On Friday, over a hundred anti-Musk protesters gathered for a fourth weekly demonstration in front of the Tesla facility on Glenwood Avenue.
According to the event page, this was organized by by Engaged Durhamites for Democracy and the Durham Democrats and will continue every week until they "receive a PUBLIC RESPONSE and CLEAR ACTION from Senators Tillis and Budd to oppose this administration's unconstitutional actions."
Being able to attract a sizeable crowd for multiple events in a row is no mean feat, so I decided to head down to take a look for myself and get a better feel for what's going on.
The very same day that this protest took place, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning of the ongoing anti-Tesla threats, as there have already been incidents across the country involving "arson, gunfire, and vandalism" targeting Tesla facilities and Tesla vehicles.
To be clear, I saw no evidence that this event in Raleigh was anything other than a peaceful protest; the demographics were primarily older unmasked white men and women, not the antifa and/or trans radicals who appear to be behind the attacks.
In fact, reviewing my pictures, I can only find perhaps one attendee who was not white (even the Mexican flag-waver was a white woman). This is is certainly not reflective of the racial/ethnic makeup of the Wake County Democrats, suggesting that there is something uniquely appealing about this particular cause to white liberals. (Or maybe all the black and Hispanic Democrats have jobs and we're still at work from 4-6pm?)
Among the flags held by protesters, the Ukrainian flag was the most common, with American flags coming in a close second and a few Canadian/Mexican flags as well.
Beyond the foundational anti-Musk/anti-Tesla sentiment, the primary messaging themes revolved around democracy and "anti-fascism," including multiple signs associating the swastika with Elon Musk and Tesla.
Like many of the protests over the past months, at least one of the protester's signs had a reference to the assassination of healthcare CEO Brian Thompson; in this case, with a pacified "DENY DEFUND DEPORT PRESIDENT MUSK."
Union-organized protest against Sen. Tillis
'We can't solve anything unless we talk:' Protesters gather as Tillis attends fundraising event - WRAL
Angry voters demand an audience in Raleigh as Thom Tillis kicks off Senate reelection bid - NC Newsline
Earlier in the day on Friday, several dozen to "more than 100" left-wing protesters also gathered outside a fundraiser for Sen. Thom Tillis (R) at the Carolina Country Club Friday morning. The protest was organized by the Triangle Labor Council, which also organized a pro-union protest against the Trump administration's cuts outside the federal building in Raleigh last week.
There appears to have been some overlap with the Tesla protest, with at least one identical "Stop the Billionaire Takeover" printed sign spotted at both.