Reopen NC protest repressor promoted | Chapel Hill removes pro-Palestine banner | UNC COVID-19 origins public records ruling appealed
No. 99 — Nov. 17- Nov. 23, 2024
General Assembly confirms SBI Director nominee involved in suppressing 2020 Reopen NC protest
The NC House and Senate have nearly unanimously voted to confirm Gov. Cooper's nomination of R. E. "Chip" Hawley as the next director of the State Bureau of Investigation, who played a key role in shutting down the first Reopen NC protest in April, 2020 and the arrest of Monica Ussery for the "non-essential activity" of protesting.
Two weeks after Gov. Cooper unilaterally issued a stay-at-home order telling us not to leave our homes except for "essential activities", demonstrators (including myself) gathered in a parking lot near his mansion to protest. Many if not most of the protesters were social distancing by household, but we were nonetheless ordered to disperse under the very order we were out to demonstrate against, with the Raleigh Police infamously declaring to the public that "protesting is a non-essential activity"
In leaked body camera footage from the Raleigh Police staging area, RPD Captain Dedric Bond referenced a call with Hawley, the Legislative Police Chief, and Wake County DA Lorrin Freeman approving the dispersal: "We got the blessing from everybody."
Hawley's involvement was not merely limited to the planning stage, the video also shows him in a white shirt and tie accompanying the RPD officers as they scour the parking lot and decide to "make an example" of the last protester to leave, Monica Ussery.
Although it was RPD who surrounded and cuffed Ussery, she was officially arrested by Hawley's subordinates in the State Capitol Police and loaded into their vehicle with Hawley presiding. Hawley is also listed as a witness in the incident report filed by his agency, stating "that he heard the defendant state that she was not leaving and it was her constitutional right to be in the parking lot with everyone else."
Hawley has been named as a defendant in the civil rights lawsuits in both state and federal courts by Ussery, alleging that her arrest was "retaliatory prosecution." (The federal case, filed last year, has since been dismissed).
Although Hawley was nominated in as SBI Director in 2023, the legislature declined to take a vote on confirmation at the time and allowed the previous director to remain in office past the end of his term while they investigated his allegations of improper influence by the governor's office.
Despite Ussery and her supporters attempting to make legislators aware of these facts, the only NO vote in either chamber on Hawley's confirmation vote held this week was from Rep. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico).
Chapel Hill removes "Power of Good Trouble" art display which featured pro-Palestine demonstrator
A Message from Town Manager Chris Blue - Chapel Hill Press Release
Is the Government of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Celebrating Anti-Israel ‘Resistance’? - the algemeiner
Chapel Hill banner sparks outrage among Jewish community over kaffiyeh symbolism - WRAL
Pro-Palestine banner in Chapel Hill sparks outrage: 'gross display' - ABC11
Chapel Hill removes artistic banner on Franklin Street after Gaza-related backlash - N&O
Chapel Hill has removed an "art display" which sparked criticism from the Jewish community for it's inclusion of a banner featuring a protester wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh which, as mentioned in a previous article, "has become widely used as a symbol of 'Palestinian unity' in opposition to the state of Israel, according to Brittanica, including prominent use by Palestinian terrorists such as Yasser Arafat (former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization) and Leila Khaled (first female airplane hijacker.)"
The red poppies on the banner are also used as a symbol of the anti-Israel Palestinian cause.
(The article originally published by the News & Observer characterized a Facebook user's comments as "incorrect" in stating that the banner included a keffiyeh; the article has since been stealth edited to admit that there does "appear[] to be a keffiyeh on the illustrated woman’s shoulder").
In a message on the banner's removal, Town Manager Chris Blue acknowledged that the piece was "causing harm"
The artist Sadie Rose, whose Facebook page at Tymeless Art & Co. appears to feature almost exclusively black subjects and promotes events like "Blackfuturism" (which purports to "exclusively featur[e] local Black artists"), wrote this about the banners: "Together, they evoke the essence of the ongoing struggle for racial justice, each element a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who dare to challenge the status quo. Through their collective presence, they echo the timeless words of the late John Lewis, urging us to stir up ‘Good Trouble’ in pursuit of a more equitable world."
U.S. Right to Know appeals public records lawsuit ruling vs UNC
Today, we filed a notice of appeal in the Court of Appeals of North Carolina in our NC Public Records Act case against @UNC for about 50,000 pages of documents, mostly of Prof. Ralph Baric, possibly containing clues about the origins of COVID-19. We won’t give up until the public can read these documents. #FOIA
https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/USRTK-v-UNC-Notice-of-Appeal-111924.pdfBackground is here:
https://usrtk.org/covid-19-origins/scientists-proposed-making-viruses-with-unique-features-of-sars-cov-2-in-wuhan/
https://usrtk.org/covid-19-origins/american-scientists-misled-pentagon-on-wuhan-research/ pic.twitter.com/kNz8xXkxKl— Gary Ruskin (@garyruskin) November 20, 2024
Prior coverage:
Public Records Lawsuit Against UNC by Medical Watchdog Group Investigating COVID-19 Origins Advances (Original Article — Nov. 6, 2023)
UNC claims "research project collaborations" are exempt from public records statute in COVID-19 origins investigation lawsuit (No. 57 — Feb. 3, 2024)
U.S. Right to Know public records lawsuit reveals efforts to evade transparency (No. 58 — Feb. 10, 2024)
Coronavirus Pandemic Subcommittee alleges FBI interest in UNC/COVID origins public records requests (No. 59 — Feb. 17, 2024)
UNC COVID-19 Origins Public Records Lawsuit: what does "proprietary mean"? (No. 61 — Mar. 2, 2024)
"Stop Gain of Function" rally at UNC-Chapel Hill (No. 62 — Mar. 9, 2024)
UNC-linked coronavirus researcher accused of "discrepancies in testimony" (No. 66 — Apr. 6, 2024)
UNC coronavirologist Ralph Baric: "can't rule out" lab leak origin of COVID-19 (No. 70 — May 4, 2024)
3rd Party Report Finds UNC Withheld Public Records Requested by Medical Watchdog Group Investigating COVID-19 Origins (Original Article — Aug. 1, 2024)
Judge rules in favor of UNC in public records suit brought by medical watchdog investigating COVID-19 (No. 94 — Oct. 19, 2024)
Durham VA celebrates "Transgender Awareness Month"
This is what’s on the TV in the Durham, NC VA office and below is the memo sent out by the VA Administration’s DEI Department where they celebrate "Transgender Day of Remembrance."
This is absurd. The VA under Trump will be focused on ACTUALLY helping our veterans. pic.twitter.com/bo2ObHNN0o
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) November 20, 2024
Wake Co. bus driver charged with breaking 3-year-old's femur
No surveillance video available on Wake County school bus where 3-year-old reportedly broke his leg - ABC11
Bus driver accused of intentionally breaking leg of 3-year-old Wake County student - N&O
Bus driver fractures child’s leg in Raleigh, warrant says - CBS17
Tiffian Kimberly Truesdale, Zebulon, was arrested Monday and charged with Intentional Child Abuse - Serious Physical Injury (Class D felony) for allegedly fracturing the femur of a 3-year-old boy.
Truesdale was transporting the non-verbal disabled toddler from a pre-K program at Durant Road Elementary School to his daycare as a bus driver working for Student Transportation of America and Wake County Public School System, according to the ABC11 report, which also includes the claim from the child's family that the surveillance video on the bus had been inoperable for months when the incident occurred.
The confirmation of the SBI director is disgusting.