NC Dems disavow mockery of pro-Palestine protest | Wake Libertarian sues over "ballot selfie" law | White nationalist previously active in Raleigh identified and charged
NC Dems disavow mockery of pro-Palestine protest | Wake Libertarian sues over "ballot selfie" law | White nationalist previously active in Raleigh identified and charged
No. 86 — Aug. 18-Aug. 24, 2024
NC Democrats disavow mockery of pro-Palestine protesters at DNC watch party
Pro-Palestine demonstrators who gathered to protest the Democratic National Convention watch party at the NC Democratic Party's Raleigh headquarters took to social media to express outrage after one of the event's attendees was captured on video dancing provocatively to the protesters' drum-backed chants of "shame on you!"
The event with "dozens of protesters" was apparently organized in conjunction with the local Party for Socialism and Liberation, accusing the Democratic Party of funding "genocide" and "massacres" by the Israeli government:
In response to a Twitter/X post with nearly 6,000 likes characterizing the dance as "absolutely disgusting behavior", NCDP Chair Anderson Clayton responded with a statement condemning the behavior and reaffirming her support for a "ceasefire":
The @NCDemParty respect protestors and the right to civic action. We condemn any behavior that mocks or belittles that right.
The person shown in the video was not a member of party staff and was asked to stop. We are taking proactive steps to ensure this does not happen again. https://t.co/MJmbmAl3nL
— Anderson Clayton☀️ (@abreezeclayton) August 23, 2024
Let me be clear: I firmly support a ceasefire. The actions last night do not in anyway reflect the views of North Carolina Democrats. As one of three state parties that signed and called for a Palestinian to speak on the DNC stage, we stand with those who are demanding change.
— Anderson Clayton☀️ (@abreezeclayton) August 23, 2024
(I'll certainly be bookmarking this post for the next time Democrats are caught "mock[ing] or belittl[ing]" right-wing protesters, like when Gov. Cooper's wife admitted to flipping off Michele Morrow's child at a 2020 rally)
Libertarian candidate challenges NC's ballot photography law
NC candidate sues state elections board over 'ballot selfie' ban - WRAL
She took a ‘ballot selfie.’ Now she’s suing North Carolina elections board for laws that ban it - AP
Taking a selfie with your ballot is illegal in NC. A Raleigh woman is suing to change that. - N&O
LAWSUIT: North Carolina woman challenges state’s unconstitutional ‘ballot selfie’ ban - Press Release
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Wake County Libertarian candidate Susan Hogarth to challenge the state's prohibition on photographing ballots.
Hogarth received a warning letter from the NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) in March after joining other NC Libertarians in sharing "ballot selfies" in civil disobedience to the law.
According to FIRE, the statutes are "unconstitutionally regulating speech based on the content of its message", and that taking and publishing a picture of one's own ballot is protected "political expression".
The NCSBE, in previous public statements, has contended that the provision of the law "is illegal in part because such photographs could be used as proof of a vote for a candidate in a vote-buying scheme".
However, as New Hampshire Libertarian Justin O'Donnell describes, photographic records of ballots have, on occasion, been used as evidence along election integrity lines:
One time, we were fusing a candidate for NH State Senate to get the R nomination by Primary, and L by write-in
The election officials reported she only got 14 write ins. We were able to demand a recount in part because we had over 35 ballot selfies
She won the recount and got both nominations.
https://t.co/EqESHKA9wC— Justin O'Donnell (@ODonnell4NH) August 23, 2024
Hogarth is currently running against Scott Lassiter (R) and Lisa Grafstein (D) in NC State Senate District 13.
Four Triangle counties on list of anti-ICE "sanctuary jurisdictions"
Map: Sanctuary Cities, Counties, and States - CIS
A recently updated report by the Center for Immigration Studies on jurisdictions which refuse to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement includes four local counties:
Chatham County
Durham County
Orange County
Wake County
White nationalist previously active in Raleigh identified and charged
Is Patriot Front an ‘Insurrectionist’ Group? DOJ Seems to Think So - Headline USA
‘We Will Fight!’ The Soldier Waging War Against America from Fort Liberty - SPLC Hatewatch
Right-wing extremist tied to threats against Raw Story reporter arrested on gun charges - Raw Story
Ex-NC soldier accused of gun sales, ties to supremacist group released before trial - N&O
Soldier in mother’s custody after being accused of lying about ties to insurrectionist group - AP
Fort Liberty Soldier Gets Booted After Indictment for Weapons Trafficking, Lying About White Nationalist Ties - Military.com
Fort Liberty Soldier Charged with Unlawful Firearms Trafficking and Lying About His Involvement in Insurrectionist Groups - DOJ Press Release
Kai Liam Nix, a member of white nationalist group Patriot Front has been arrested and charged with four felonies in the federal Eastern District of North Carolina
Nix attended multiple right-wing demonstrations in Raleigh during 2021 and 2022, including a small "End the Mandates" convoy where I reported on the nature of the propaganda literature he was passing out in his masked pseudonymous identity as "Patrick NC".
He apparently took issue with my reporting, as an anonymous account messaged me on Twitter with my home address, and someone went so far as to visit my home that afternoon and leave one of the pamphlets he had been passing out in my mailbox.
At his court hearing I attended in Raleigh on Thursday, Nix was granted pretrial release to the custody of his mother, with GPS tracking and a ban on accessing the internet.
Nix has been charged with lying on a background check about his membership in a "group dedicated to the use of violence or force to overthrow the United States Government", as well as three charges related to the sale of firearms. Nix, formerly an infantryman in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg/Liberty, has been removed from the Army since his indictment.
For more details on the case and how he was identified by antifa researchers, check out the article I wrote for Headline USA: Is Patriot Front an ‘Insurrectionist’ Group? DOJ Seems to Think So.
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