Flyers Handed Out at the North Carolina Republican State Convention | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This account of interaction between politicians and political supporters at the North Carolina Republican State Convention recounts the failure of politicians to understand those who might well support them at the grassroots level. This account is not written in the standard narrative style but it is still most informative.

    BCN reported before the state Republican convention that flyers would be handed out. Click here to read this article and get a look at what the flyers said.

    The below reports are from Jessica Hult and Jenny Cooper both of whom attended the NCGOP Convention last weekend and handed out the attached flyer. Both were approached and questioned (grilled?) about the flyer. Below they report their experiences.

    1500 of the attached flyers were distributed at the NCGOP Convention Friday and Saturday. (I believe 1700 attended.)

    The below reports are from Jessica Hult and Jenny Cooper both of whom attended the NCGOP Convention last weekend and handed out the attached flyer. Both were approached and questioned (grilled?) about the flyer. Below they report their experiences.

   Contact info is provided at the bottom of the page.

    This report from Jessica Hult from Carteret County who found herself accused of 'distributing slanderous and libelous' material by Sen Rucho, Rep Tillis, NCGOP VChair Wayne King and Attorney Paul Foley whom told her that she was looking at being sued by them.

    [One other lady was subjected to similar treatment while handing out the flyers but, frightened by the experience, left and decided not to report her experience.]

    Saturday at the Convention two men approached her - NCGOP Vice Chair Wayne King and NCGOP attorney Paul Foley. They rushed her with aggressive questions giving little time for response and continually threatened with being sued, and told that she was probably in violation of campaign finance law also.

    King asked her why was she passing out 'slanderous and libelous' material, and did she know it was slanderous and libelous material. She told them that she had volunteered to help hand out the attached flyers for a friend.

    She also told them that she was distributing a flyer that represented the questions of a good number of delegates there that day.

    Vicechair Wayne King seemed very upset and pushed for the names of those behind the 'illegal, slanderous and libelous flyer'. They asked her if she knew that this was illegal because of its 'libelous and slanderous' nature, that it violated campaign law and went against NCGOP Party rules. [I don't. believe that to be the case -- and the attorney is younger and new to the job.]

    They asked her for any evidence justifying the flyer.

    She responded 'What's wrong with asking questions?'

    They asked her if she would have worded the flyer differently and she responded that she would have but that she'd agreed to hand it out as it was, and that 'Jessica Hult keeps her word.' A lady from Charlotte witnessed this. (I'm hoping to get permission to give her name.)

    Then, Sen Rucho and Rep Tillis joined King and Foley, and Tillis began "shaking his finger in her face while asking why she was distributing a 'slanderous and libelous flyer'?". She told me that she is 5'3 and felt pretty shaken when 'this tall man' was addressing her this way. She says Sen Rucho also appeared upset and both he and Rep Tillis wanted 'examples of what was said' in the flyers.

    Tillis asked 'Is this about Art Williams?' Jessica told him yes but he is only one of several they were looking into. (Fmr Sen Arthur Williams was recruited by Repubs to run against a Repub who had already filed. He was promised support, changed parties and filed -- one example.)

    Then both King and Tillis demanded names and she said she could give one name (name withheld - he was just the flyer deliverer) and King and the lawyer demanded the correct spelling.

    Then King and Tillis ask her if she'd be willing to stop distributing the flyers and throw out the rest. (She and the others had already pretty much handed out all of them.) She agreed to stop handing them out for now, but not to throw them out. There were folks watching this drama go on and after the drama was over they seemed even more interested in the flyer.

    The gang challenged her again on handing out the flyers and then said 'Let's go find (name withheld --the deliverer but he was not there).

    Finally, before Tillis left, he again put his finger in her face and told her to 'wait two years and see - that he'd be involved in many primaries'.

    Jenny Cooper is from Pitt County and is GOP Chair there. She says that VChr King and Attny Foley addressed her re. the flyer - about which she says she knew nothing at the time. She asked to see it and remarked that the points were valid and that the NCGOP should stay out of local and state primary elections. (She had to tell NCGOP herself to butt out of her county politics as the state GOP had recruited a 'non-desirable' with a troubled history).

    The two men agreed with her but King kept saying that he knew nothing about meddling in local or state primary campaigns. She did not believe him as she had seen and heard for herself from those involved, what was going on in the east (and elsewhere) with Arthur Williams, Jerry Evans, Randy Ramsey, with what seemed to be the party protection of Stephen LaRoque and the Greg Dority decoy in the GOP Auditor primary.

    There are witnesses to the state party's meddling in the above races, but, I think it's safe to say, rather than try to fight the NCGOP/RNC machine folks by trying to bring allusive 'evidence' of top down power bullying they are telling them to stay away and working to keep them out of local and state politics during primary and general elections.

    Jessica Hult may be reached at 252.342.0591 / janejessie1972@gmail.com

    Jenny Cooper may be reached at 252.752.7611

    Paul Foley, NCGOP Attorney and attorney with KilpatrickTownsend, Winston-Salem. 336.607.7389 / pfoley@killpatricktownsend.com