Commissioner House caught up in Social Media War of Words
September 3, 2013
Commissioner House caught up in Social Media War of Words
Gary House
Over the last month the Facebook page of Commissioner Gary house has been very busy with accusations against Harnett County Employees and former elected officials.
Last week in “The Daily Record “ a story was featured about Mr. House and former Commissioner Tim McNeil concerning a comment that was posted on Facebook about Tim McNeil being a beast. Mr. House stated that he was referring to a football player that he was watching at a local high school. Mr. McNeil stated that he just wanted to be left alone.
The Friday after the story ran Mr. House once again talked about the Tim McNeil in question and made reference to another football game. The Harnett Dispatched was unable to contact the parties at the time of release. Mr. House has also been making comments about county employees Steve Ward and Glen McFadden in recent weeks and their involvement in the pending lawsuit that Mr. House and former county employee Randy Rogers are defendants in. Many of the comments have been related to statements made by these employees with regards to the investigation of public utilities.
Heated Argument at County Meeting
Today at the Harnett County board of commissioners meeting Mr. House and Lillington Resident Paul Long exchanged words before the meeting started and Mr. House got up and called the Harnett County Sheriff’s office to come to the meeting for security measures due to the heated exchange. Chairman Burgin gave no order for anyone to be removed from the meeting and the scheduled meeting went on as planned. When the invocation “Prayer” was given by Commissioner House he made sure to call out Lillington resident Paul Long and prayed that the Lord would take the hate out of Mr. Long’s heart. Many in the audience felt that this was inappropriate for a Commissioner to call out a resident and ask for prayer to remove hate form their heart. The meeting continued without incident.
Anger Continues on FaceBook
Tonight after the meeting today Mr. House posted a picture that was taken of Harnett County Resident and posted the following excerpt” Regulators, the verbal attack by Paul Long today was just a temporary diversion in today’s activities. Long is just a flea on the brim of our chapeaus, flick it to the side and continue your ride, continue your ride for truth. He is but a speck of sand in the grand scheme of things… Remember stay close to the Sapona….” “As I was walking out of the room today to have the sheriff called, Paul Long made a reference to me having my picture made with the confederate flag. I am not saying that long said something untrue. But I have no recollection of that at all and I have no such pictures in my possession. The Regulators are from a different era. I doubt the confederate flag was even born then…. Maybe local historian Bryan Avery can shed some light on this”
In the past month Mr. House has made many references to a group being called “The Regulators and those they would seek the truth for Harnett County” in some pictures posted by Mr. House there is a group of men dressed in costumes around a bond fire with the caption “Ride Regulators Ride” and the following excerpts were posted “In addition, while I was being verbally assaulted by Paul Long, he made references to my regulator pictures. I like those pictures and will continue to use them. Ride Regulators Ride”
Many wonder what Mr. House is talking about, history states those in the “Regulator movement” would protest would not be the principles of the government, but the day-to-day operations, which they believed to be in violation of these principles. They were known as a posse, the most well-known was Billy the Kid in a sense they were there on Law, Jury and Judge. Many of their repeals to the governmental system in modern times would be compared to sovereign citizens which is a group summarized as “Self-described sovereign citizens take the position that they are answerable only to common law and are not subject to any statutes or proceedings at the federal, state or municipal levels, or that they do not recognize U.S. currency and that they are “free of any legal constraints”.[1][2][3] They especially reject most forms of taxation as illegitimate.[4] Participants in the movement argue this concept in opposition to “federal citizens” who, they say, have unknowingly forfeited their rights by accepting some aspect of federal law.[5]
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies “sovereign citizens” among domestic terror threats as anti-government extremists.[6] In 2010 the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) estimated that approximately 100,000 Americans were “hard-core sovereign believers” with another 200,000 “just starting out by testing sovereign techniques for resisting everything from speeding tickets to drug charges.”[7] According to resources this group resembles The Regulators of the past.
I think when House mentions the “Regulators” he is referring to “The Regulator Movement” in colonial North Carolina. It was made up of a group of disgruntled farmers in the backcountry (Piedmont) that protested against corrupt officials. Their concerns involved sheriffs and county clerks overtaxing and pocketing a portion of the money collected, the lack of fair representation in the General Assembly, and a failure by the eastern NC power structure to address the needs of their region. The colonial assembly financed “Tryon Palace”, an extravagant governor’s mansion while there were no good roads or mail service in the west. The movement ended when the colonial militia, led by Governor Tryon defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance.
I’m sure Mr. House would like to view his crusade as one as noble as that of the Regulators of our past, but I just don’t see it. They weren’t paranoid conspiracy theorists.