NCGOP convention delegate says Speaker Tillis, party vice-chair King ‘bullied’ her
Carteret County Republican activist Jessica Hult had an eye-opening experience as a delegate to the recent NCGOP convention in Greensboro:
“I’ve been a delegate to the state convention a number of times. I’ve been to the national convention. I’ve NEVER had anyone talk to — or treat me — like this. NEVER. They were bullies, and nobody likes bullies.”
The Haymaker caught up with the still-shaken Hult by telephone Wednesday evening. She said her phone has been ringing off the hook with party activists — and a number of attorneys — offering support and assistance.
The episode in question began last Saturday at the Greensboro convention. Hult said she was distributing stacks of THESE FLIERS to individuals who were planning to pass them out to convention-goers as they left the convention hall:
“My first indication that something was up was when I heard someone shouting: ‘There she is! There she is!‘ I looked over to see two guys in suits hurrying over toward me. I didn’t recognize the two men until they got close and I saw their name tags.”
She said the men were NCGOP vice-chairman Wayne King, and Paul Foley — introduced to Hult as “the party attorney”:
“They both appeared to be very upset. Mr. Foley suggested that the fliers I was handing out were not even legal and were likely a violation of campaign finance laws. He wanted to know who I was doing this for, and who was paying for it. I told him these fliers were designed and distributed with the idea of asking questions on behalf of a large portion of delegates here today at the convention.”
Hult said King “didn’t like” the fliers, and wanted examples from her about how he had meddled in primaries or run “decoy candidates.” Hult said King also suggested that the fliers were “slanderous and defamatory”:
“Did I wish they were worded a little better? Certainly. The grammar was questionable. But as far as the points the fliers made, I thought they were valid questions that needed to be asked and answered.”
Hult said she didn’t draw up the fliers:
“I got asked to help pass them out, and I agreed to do it. I am a woman of my word. I do what I promise to do.”
She said, at that point, Speaker Tillis and Senator Bob Rucho joined the discussion. (The event was occurring near where most of the Mecklenburg County delegation was seated.) Hult said Rucho questioned her about the fliers in a very quiet, diplomatic tone. She said Tillis took a different route:
“Mr. Tillis was clearly upset. He put his finger in my face and lectured me very sternly about slander and libel. He was the scariest of them all. If the idea was to physically intimidate me, it was working.”
Hult said she was properly credentialed as a delegate, so she was authorized to be in the convention area. She said she was not aware of any rules or regulations that prohibited the distribution of fliers in the convention:
“They wanted me to cease and desist — to stop passing out the fliers. They wanted me to throw them all away. I refused, and they seemed surprised by that.”
She said Tillis asked her for examples of meddling in campaigns and running “decoy” candidates:
“He looked at the flier and asked ‘Is this about Art Williams’? I told him that Mr. Williams is one example that is being looked into.”
Arthur Williams is a former Democrat legislator near the Outer Banks who has switched to the Republican Party and is running for an open state seat. He is in a July runoff with Tea Party favorite Mattie Lawson, whose supporters are alleging that Williams was put into the race by Tillis and other Raleigh special interests.
Hult said Tillis told her party rules allow him to get in the middle of party primaries:
” He told me he hadn’t done much of that this year. But he told me to wait two years, and I’ll see him in the middle of a whole lot of primaries.”
Hult said she finally gave the men the name of another delegate involved in flier distribution, and the four stalked away from her in search of that person:
“I was scared. My legs turned to jelly. I had to call my husband on my phone and talk to him as I walked out to my car. I sat in my car for about 30 minutes just to calm down.”
She said Tillis and King were the most aggressive of her four interrogators:
“They were both talking to me very menacingly — you will throw these out. You better stop doing this right now, if you know what’s good for you. You will stop passing these things out. I told them I wasn’t going to quit.”
Hult said the hubbub may have increased interest in her fliers:
“As I was leaving the convention, a man walked up to me, pointed at my stack of fliers, and asked me for one. I told him that I was told not to pass any more out. He took one off the top of the stack anyway. A few other people did too.”
We’ve emailed a request for comment on this episode to NCGOP spokesman Rob Lockwood. We haven’t heard anything back yet. If we do get anything — we’ll give it to you here.
Lets get the story straight!
I was standing next to the 2 ladies and a gentleman as they were talking about the fliers before Mr Tillis was involved. I was handed a flier and I asked them, who this letter was from? The ladies I think were Jessica and Jenny said, they were asked to hand them out. I asked the ladies and the man who they were from, and she said she did not know, but was going to hand them out anyway. Their statement was, it was their duity! I said to them I didn’t think I would be handing out anything I didn’t know who signed it.
I approached Mr. Tillis and asked if he had knowledge of this flyer. Mr Tillis, Mr. Rucho and myself approached the distributors of the flyers and Mr. Tillis calmly inquired about the flyers and wanted to know where they came from, and the response was,”I don’t know.” Considering the nature of the flyer being distributed at a public event with no knowledge from which it came seems very irresponsible and slanderous. Someones story about finger pointing is completely false. I stood their the whole time as Mr Tillis and Rucho spoke with the 2 ladies and at no time did either men become threatening, a direct question was asked but could not be answered. In final you can use my name, Robert Watson, delegate 242 district.
If you can’t put your name on the information you are handling out and you don’t have a clear source from which it originated then is it really a good idea to distribute the information?
Robert Watson
Lets get the story straight!
I was standing next to the 2 ladies and a gentleman as they were talking about the fliers before Mr Tillis was involved. I was handed a flier and I asked them, who this letter was from? The ladies I think were Jessica and Jenny said, they were asked to hand them out. I asked the ladies and the man who they were from, and she said she did not know, but was going to hand them out anyway. Their statement was, it was their duity! I said to them I didn’t think I would be handing out anything I didn’t know who signed it.
I approached Mr. Tillis and asked if he had knowledge of this flyer. Mr Tillis, Mr. Rucho and myself approached the distributors of the flyers and Mr. Tillis calmly inquired about the flyers and wanted to know where they came from, and the response was,”I don’t know.” Considering the nature of the flyer being distributed at a public event with no knowledge from which it came seems very irresponsible and slanderous. Someones story about finger pointing is completely false. I stood their the whole time as Mr Tillis and Rucho spoke with the 2 ladies and at no time did either men become threatening, a direct question was asked but could not be answered. In final you can use my name, Robert Watson, delegate 242 district.
If you can’t put your name on the information you are handling out and you don’t have a clear source from which it originated then is it really a good idea to distribute the information?
Mr. Gilbert, Sir are you the author of this flyer?
My cell is 704 807 1733. Please call me if you want the true story. I don’t HIDE my name
Robert Watson
It surely seems as if a tug-of-war has developed between “establishment, top down, pecking order” Republicans and “grass roots, bottom up, responsible citizen” Republicans. Since our country’s founders believed that a moral, informed, involved citizenry was necessary in order for our experiment in self government to succeed (and I agree with them), I hope the latter prevail.
This story is a bold face lie. I was the man that was leaning on the post next to the 2 girls and the gentelman talking before they started handing out fliers.
I was also standing next to Mr. Tells when this coversation was going on with Hult.
I will pay for a polygarph test with Jessica Hult and myself. Let’s see who is telling the truth!
Let me know when Jessica Hult is ready for the polygraph test. I will set it up
Bob Watson
First: Any lawyer who files a defamation action based on this flyer needs to return to law school. Defamation requires proving actual malice and that the facts alleged are false. How can posing questions on a flyer be a false statement of fact
Re the convention: There were several conversations with several girls at different times. The first was with Ginny Cooper by herself and then there were a couple of others who had a conversations with the gang. 😉
The truth does not need a name as it stands on it own. I don’t believe the author has any worries about it because it’s about the message and not the messenger. Besides the author is a Vietnam Vet Marine w/14 years. Do you really believe that if these four jokes for men knew who wrote it it wouldn’t hurt them more than it already is? BTW, have you seen the video footage yet?
It’s the Lillyputs and power bullies who worry so much about such silly things. And a message can often be distracting if the author is known. Would you agree?
Tillis is already in attack mode toward canidate Mattie Lawson and she did not author them.
And now, NCGOP is trying to make friendly with the ‘culprits’ and likely flatter, offer silly titles or perks and generally try to coopt them to shut them up.
Stop handing out the flyers at convention? Since when? What pitiful parnoids are leadership is.
If you don’t like the message, think about how Craven Chair Chuck Tyson, Carteret Chair Greg Lewis, Fmr Senator Fern Shubert, Pitt Chair Ginny Cooper, candidates Bill Cook, John Bell, Norm Sanderson, Efton Sager, etc must think about how NCGOP/Caucuses have tried these guys aside. (Heck, Cook was rated #3 by Civitas. Now why would Rucho recruit a Dem (Evans) to run against him? Why was Randy Ramsey recurited to run against Norm Sanderson (sugget reading up on who Ransey is). Why are decoy candidates being brought into races? Ex Jeremy Adams and Greg Dority. Folks across the state have been complaining about interference for years now.
My entry must have gone away.
Mr. Watson, not to be smart, but me thinks, like Tillis, Foley, Rucho and King, thou doest protest too much.
Wow! It looks like Tillis’ office is at least quick at attempted damage control, to get an establishement flunky on here to carry water. This Watson dude doesn’t even bother to defend King, but zeros in on defending Tillis. Maybe someone can connect the dots between him and Tillis.
To me, this looks like the GOP’s very own ”who are you” moment. While Tillis’ staff tries to behave like Bill Clinton, Tillis himself tries to behave like Bob Etheridge.
Appalling! We must do better than this as a Senate nominee in 2014.
The important issue here is why top NCGOP and legislative leaders are supporting Democrats running under false colors as Republicans in our primaries and are leaving important offices like Attorney General uncontested. That is the issue. This ”shoot the messanger” sideshow is just a diversion. We need to get to the bottom of the real issue.
Mr. Watson, You certainly do remember a lot of the questions they barraged me with. I thank you for that. I was taken quite by surprise when they came up to me. They did ask some of these questions, but I don’t feel like I was given any time between questions to respond to each & every one as thoroughly & thoughtfully as I would have liked. I am a scout leader & have a very busy next couple of weeks. I have no idea who you are & quite frankly, don’t have time for folk who don’t know me, anything about me, or my character. The truth is out there, sir, and if I have helped to spread the truth about some of the corruption in the state gop to effect some sort of positive change, then I can only thank God. Mr. Thom Tillis is the one who asked if this was about Art Williams, not myself, and in doing so he has admitted involvement in the recruitment of a true RINO candidate, in my opinion. I take it, Mr. Watson, that you are not part of the Tea Party? This is not just about Art, though. As I told Mr. Tillis, Art is but one of several who is being looked into across the state……I’m very sure all of you would like to know who is looking into all this. Sir- I encourage you to open your eyes & see that it is us–we the people, individuals & delegates from across the state who are connecting the dots. For any of this on the flyer to be slanderous the plaintiff would have to prove that the questions asked by the flyer were indeed incorrect. I challenge Mr. King, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Rucho, and Mr. Foley to do this.
Respectfully,
Jessica Hult
My responses to Mr. Watson’s questions-
1. Jessica and Jenny said they did not know who supplied the flyers.
My Response—-“True- I did not know at the time who originated the flyer. Jane Doe was not helping me hand out flyers- she was pointing out people to me who were sympathetic to the message of the flyer. Ginny Cooper had nothing to do with any of this, except for being the county chair for the other delivery person, whom I later named.”
2. Do you know who the person is that supplied you the flyers?
My response—- I tried to hedge that question. If other people were going to be approached like I was, I didn’t want to bring them into this. I felt (and still do) that there was nothing wrong with what I was doing.”
3. Who told them to hand out the flyers?
Jessica’s response—- “No one “told me” to hand out the flyers. I was asked to do so & I agreed to do so.”
4. What is her or his name?
My response— “Again, I tried to hedge that question, but then that was the first time I mentioned the name of the flyer deliverer.”
5. Who delivered the flyers?
My response—- “I personally brought them to the state convention.”
6. You handed out flyers and you didn’t know they were slanderous?
My response— “I didn’t believe the flyers were slanderous. Why would they be slanderous? They were valid questions which represented the thoughts of many delegates there that day.”
7. Did Speaker Tillis put his finger in your face?
My response– “Yes he did.”
8. Did Speaker Tom Tillis shake his fists at you?
My response– “No he did not, I never said that.”
9. Did Speaker Tom Tillis raise his voice in anger toward anyone?
My response—- “No. He lowered his voice in what was to me a very threatening manner. His tone seemed to be restrained as I continued to avoid possibly further incriminating myself by not naming specific names in any of the allegations the flyer proposed. I was pretty sure they didn’t have a legal leg to stand on, but just in case I had to avoid naming names.”
10. Did Speaker Tom Tillis make harmful threats or gestures that would suggest any physical action?
My response— “He pointed his finger in my face & lowered his voice in what was to me a very threatening manner.”
11. Who told you that these flyers represented a good number of delegates?
My response— “Most of the delegates who were handed the flyer on Friday thought they indeed were valid questions and thanked me for being brave enough to do so. Somehow I don’t remember this being one of the questions asked of me at the time.”
12. Did you speak to the good number of delegates?
My response— “I speak to lots of delegates at conventions, from all circles & cliques. I have been consistent in my stand defending our God-given Constitutionally protected rights & most folk who know, they know this about me.”
13. What lady from Charlotte witness this? Invite to her to joint the test.
My response– “Invitation sent.”
Wayne King learned these tactics when running against Tim Johnson. I know what he told me personally. Tom Tillis does not want booing or clapping. He actually said leave you emotions at the door when you enter as he addressed us in Asheville NC.
Ask Fern Shubert about King. The problem we have is people are afraid to speak out. Did you all know that the closed door executive committe cleans up all that does not get addressed at the convention floor. I am waiting to see what happens to the resolutions.
This part should be an example of open government but that is not what we all saw in Greensboro. We are beginning to act like democrats.
ilchearing
Instead of getting bogged down in the details of Tillis’ ”Who are You” moment (which is probably what they want), the important thing is to get to the bottom of the serious problems described in the flyer. Our party needs to be run from the bottom up, not by arrogant party bosses in Raleigh who pal around with people who are more Democrat than Republican. We need to have this whole issue brought before the state Executive Committee and shine a spotlight on what has been going on and who is responsible, then find ways to put a stop to it.
I for one am tired of the RINOs in the party and I will work tirelessly and use my funds to rid the party of the garbage. I will start with Arthur Williams. He is a liberal democrat and he lost his last election against the Republicans. We in Beaufort County will try and have him lose again as a RINO. I think after the presidential election we should all leave the Republican party and start the Consitituional Party. Let the party shrink and die on the vine as a bad piece of fruit…
If this incident happened and Ms. Hult felt threatened by anyone at our state convention, that would be unacceptable.
If we had not experienced this type of manipulation in the 7th Congressional District, I would probably not pay this article much attention. When I read the name Rucho, I figure it to be a true story.
Senator Rucho and Representative David Lewis are the architects of the mess we have in the 7th Congressional District. The belief held by a growing number of our Republicans, is that they created this district in a way that guaranteed success for their buddy, Senator David Rouzer. Adding fuel to that fire is the fact that Rucho and Lewis hired a senior member of La Raza to assist in the redistricting effort. Her name is Matty Lazo Chadderton. I find it quite a coincidence that our district was drawn to facilitate the election of a candidate who had lobbied for amnesty for illegal immigrants.
I will have to give the benefit of the doubt to Ms. Hult here.
That snake in the grass David Lewis should have been challenged for National Committeeman. Given the way the National Committeewoman race went, he could probably have been knocked out. Lewis had been bad news for a long time in the legislature, and he does not deserve to be on the RNC.
I walked up to hear what was going on after I had refused to hand out the flyers, not knowing if they where true. King and Tillis where not happy and I understand why, guilty or not they where not going to be happy. Either way Tillis did point at her, and now with me standing there (maybe thinking a crowd might form) he started to walk away, but B4 he did he had one more thing to say, “I can support who ever I want, and if anyone wants a fight I’ll give um one, I grew up in a trailer park and I’m always game for a good scrap”. He was not happy to say the least and was pointing a little, I don’t think this makes him good or bad (I thought it was a great line myself, but I’m a redneck) what matters is if what was said in the flyers is true and I hope it’s not.
As to whether the content of the flyers was true, you might want to read the article on Beaufort County Now dot com from Carteret County GOP activist Ken Lang. He reports two Senators (Brown and Rucho?) and one Representative (Tillis?) coming to Carteret County to recruit a primary candidate against incumbent conservative State Representative Norm Sanderson in his bid for the open 2nd Senate district seat. The candidate this cabal recruited agaisnt Sanderson was Randy Ramsay, a major Democrat Party contributor and a supplier of airplanes for Bev Purdue’s campaign.
The lady handing out the flyers was from Carteret County. Is there any rational reason you would think that Carteret County Republicans would NOT be supremely pissed off at the cabal from Raleigh? Of course, with what the cabal did with Jerry Evans and Arthur Williams, Beaufort County Republicans have just as much right to be supremely pissed off at them, too.