_{^{Many of our readers may have noticed our writing improved drastically over the past month. This isn’t by accident, nor is it because Thom Roddy or any of our contributors became better writers overnight. We are pleased to welcome Criag Jackson to our team of volunteers. Craig’s abilities in writing have made our content easier to read, navigate and understand. He’s also pretty good at grammar and spelling, making him much better at writing than I could ever hope to be.}}

_{^{Thom Roddy, Dirctor and Founder at Blackwater Reports Inc.}}

By Craig Jackson – February 28, 2024

Regarding the February 23, 2024, Court Hearing:

The District Court hearing didn’t yield a decisive victory for us, but it wasn’t entirely against us either. The positive outcome is that the hearing allowed us to place three witnesses under oath who testified to events that the video evidence clearly contradicts. This robust evidence will be invaluable as we move forward.

About the GoFundMe:

We still require your support. Even a small donation of $5.00 can have a significant impact, when others contribute similarly. Soon, we’ll offer exclusive content related to the ongoing public corruption in Currituck. As a token of our gratitude for your $15.00 donation, you’ll gain access to our exclusive private content. Some of this content will be made available to the general public several days after subscribers, while other content will remain exclusively accessible to subscribers indefinitely. You’ll automatically receive access to the subscriber area if you’ve already donated.

Donate Here

Current Status:

On February 16, 2024, the county manager dispatched Sheriff Deputies to Thom Roddy’s home to hand-deliver a permanent no-trespass notice. This notice was intended to intimidate Roddy and his family and prevent him from reporting from the county seat. However, this action violated Roddy’s right to due process and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on prior restraint (Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697, 716 (1931)).

Next Steps:

Our focus now is on safeguarding our right to Free Speech and defending the rights of each of you. If the county succeeds in silencing one of us, it effectively silences all of us. Here’s what we’re currently working on:

1. Raising funds through your donations to challenge these unwarranted actions against Free Speech and Freedom of the Press.
2. Roddy will not appeal the court order issued on February 23, 2024. It would be prohibitively costly, and there are other avenues available to address it, such as through the State Bar and the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission.
3. We’re preparing to file a lawsuit against the county, Bob White, Selina Jarvis, the county manager, attorney, and one county employee. We will seek damages from each defendant for libel and slander defamation. This approach is more cost-effective, and the elements of the suit are more easily met, courtesy of the county manager’s notice and the testimony provided under oath by three defendants on February 23, 2024. Additionally, Bob White’s defamatory remarks against Roddy during the special commissioners meeting on February 15, 2024, will be addressed in the lawsuit.
4. Finally, we are in the process of converting the file format of the February 23, 2024, hearing to a format that can be readily uploaded to the website. Once this conversion is finished, we plan to utilize the witness testimony in crafting our complaint to the North Carolina State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Ethics Committee.

Please consider donating today.