Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to
this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon
to three on WBT Radio and Charlotte. And if you
want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream,
my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron,
go to Thepete calendarshow dot com make sure you hit
the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to
your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much
for your support. If you are on the Twitter machine,
you can follow me at Pete Calendar, but you should
also check out if you're into North Carolina politics and such,
the hashtag NCPOL and I have seen over the last
I don't know, probably a week or two on the
NCPOL twitter stream or feed cyberstalking well maybe examples, but
also people talking about it. And so Cassie Clark joins me.
Now she is Do I call you an influencer? Do
you adopt that moniker? Do you like that name? Or
just podcaster? The publisher of a website called Where the
dog Wood Blooms. Cassie, what is your preferred title besides
Queen of North Carolina?
Speaker 2: I think influencer works. It's not my favorite because I'm
actually not selling anything, but it works.
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, so fair enough, and you can read
her work at where thedogwood blooms dot com follow her
on Twitter as well. Her Twitter handle is it's not
where that, it's just dogwood blooms, right, that's right. Yeah, see, Okay,
totally prepared for this, yes, so all right, So, first off,
this is an issue, this cyber stalking issue that and
I gotta believe that, like your effort to talk to
state lawmakers about our current laws, I've got to believe
that there is something going on and we don't have
to go into details of it because usually that just
inspires more of this kind of activity. But there is
something going on that has inspired your focus on this
is this recent?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, I mean I kind of blew up in
the past year or so and gained thousands of followers
and out of nowhere, I discovered that there is a
CD under belly to social media. And in the past year,
I've been cyberstod on three separate occasions. One of those
has lasted I think we're going on a year right now.
And then I started hearing other people's stories and it's
scary I mean I know people who've been swatted. I
know people who have had private information shared. I know
people who have pizzas delivered to their house NonStop. I mean,
at some point, enough is enough?
Speaker 1: Yeah, all, it's all swatting. I've been arguing that swatting
needs to be codified as attempted homicide because that's the
point of the swatting. Now, the pizza deliveries, I would
be okay with taking a bunch of the pizzas. Do
you have to pay for them on delivery? No, I'm kidding,
but like that's these are the things. These are it's
trolls on Twitter, but then migrate to real life and
start doing this stuff in real life. That's the cyberstalking,
the cyber part of the cyber stalking. So what have you? So,
what is it that you are identifying as maybe gaps
in the existing laws?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: So, right now, the current law is kind of useless.
I mean it's super vague, it's too narrow, and it
really has no teeth. And the courts have found it
so useless that they've started reverting to court decisions made
in recent cases, so they're using case law instead of
our actual law, and that's a problem. So what I
want is something that's actually useful. I mean, my biggest
priority is protecting freedom of speech, because there's no room
for compromise there. For me, I don't want to stifle
our First Amendment rights. I would really like a remedy
for people who are actually being harassed and harmed. And
there are people who have had their businesses attacked, there
are people who've had field court documents released about their children.
And violence is being encouraged and celebrated. And if the
law can't handle that on their own, and we the
people can't take it into our own hands, then what
are we supposed to do?
Speaker 1: So have you reached out to lawmakers or are you
talking to state lawmakers? Because the deadline for getting bills
through the legislature, that crossover deadline, has passed, So it
makes it a little bit more difficult if something isn't
already in the works, right.
Speaker 2: So I reached out to my cousin, Alan Mashburn, and
I explained to him the situation, and he is incredibly
awesome and I just love him. And he explained all
that to me, and he told me that there is
actually a rep in North Carolina right now who had
been talking about our problem with cyberstalking, and so I
decided to go up there and introduced myself and I
took a group of people with me, and we explained
our situations and we told him the problems that we're
seeing with the law because some of us have actually
tried to press charges for this and failed. And everyone
that we spoke to was extremely responsive, like they were
really interested in doing something about this. And I mean,
I got bipartisan support on this when I went up.
Speaker 1: So are there templates or model legislation that you would
look at and say, this is this is working well,
this is what we could do? Or are the legislative
staffer is going to have to basically start from zero.
Speaker 2: So I think there's two excellent options right now. There's
the Florida law, which is pretty strong and it's got teeth,
and then there's our federal law. And so I encourage
We actually brought with us paperwork like showing them what
a new law could potentially look like. And of course
I know through the course of them going back and
forth over that that would change. But something needs to
be done. I mean, people can't just you know, for me,
I have children at home. I don't want to be flatted,
you know. I don't want someone out here trying to
destroy my business and you know, ruin my life just
because you know of something really stupid on social media.
Maybe I don't agree with you over something tiny, and
you want to destroy my life. To me, that's insane.
And so I think that there's an interest there, and
I'm hoping that when they come back, we're going to
continue these discussions and that they're going to move forward
to do something.
Speaker 1: All right, so you've got some interest, you have some
model legislation, some templates to give them, which, by the way,
that's very helpful. If you can hand somebody, you know,
model legislation and they don't have to do much work,
that's helpful. Because I'm not calling them all lazy. I'm
just saying it's just it's helpful. I'll just leave it there.
And so that's good. That's a good first step. So
what are some of the when you say, like, the
federal law has teeth in it, what are the teeth like,
what are some examples of the teeth that would make
enforcement harsher?
Speaker 2: So with and I can't remember if this is the
Florida law or the federal law, but they have a
the minute someone presses charges, there's a no contact order issued.
North Carolina doesn't do that, So the people that you
take to court can continue to harass you and cyber
stalk you all the way up until court and then
chances are they're going to get away with it, and
then they've got even more of your information. And so
that right there is a problem that they need to
nip in the butt. I would love to see them
issue some sort of no contact once somebody has taken
out charges against this, right and then Florida also, you're
I want to say that in North Carolina right now
it's a misdemeanor, whereas in Florida it can progress into
a felony. If this person continues to stalk in her
app people, then the charges will go up. And in
North Carolina we also don't have that. So, I mean,
there are definitely things that they could be doing to
protect people who are kind of in the spotlight that
we're completely missing out on right now.
Speaker 1: So do you know why there isn't you mentioned the
no contact order? Why is that different than just like
a regular stalking, like in person stalking. Can't you get
a no contact restraining order versus what's the difference in
the cyber stalking or why do they not do that?
Speaker 2: That's a good question. I don't know. I'm actually scheduled
to have a zoom meeting with a domestic violence lobbyist
right after we finish here, and I'm hoping that she'll
be able to give me some insight on that, because,
as far as I know, obtaining a no contact order
is really hard in the state of North Carolina for
any kind of stalking as far as I know.
Speaker 1: Interesting because yeah, I know, like people can go down
to get restraining orders from the magistrates and you know, like, oh,
I want to swear I want to swear out you know,
a tro or something on them or whatever, and like
and then people like slap each other with these things.
I was told that by a magistrate years ago, so
maybe that has changed or something. But like he like,
they can do that sort of stuff. I just wonder
if there's a different bar that you have to clear
for the cyber stuff. It doesn't seem like you should
you shouldn't have to.
Speaker 2: Well, our cyber stalking law falls under the stalking law,
so the fact that it's so hard to get these
orders is kind of ridiculous. Actually, have some stats for
you if you want to hear. Yeah, so seven point
five million Americans experienced cyberstalking every year and here in
the state of North Carolina from two thousand to twenty
and eleven. Less than seventeen percent of cyberstalking cases in
North Carolina resulted in a conviction. Eighty percent of stalking
victims are tracked. And that's stalking victims period, not just
cyber stalking, just people who are stocked even in person.
They're eighty percent of them are also stalked online. More
than fifty percent of stalking victims are female. Less than
thirty percent of stalking victims report these crimes to the police.
As many as seventy percent of cyberstalking victims experienced substantial
emotional distress. So, I mean, this is a growing problem
in our state and they know it. I mean we've
seen it with Matt van swall right, I mean he
was he was cyberstalked. He had the whole pizza delivery
thing going on. And before that, there was a man
in Cherokee County who was cyber swatted and shot right.
Speaker 1: Yeah. No, Look, as somebody who's been in this arena
for a long time, I have had this sort of
stuff happened to me repeatedly over the years. I've never
had the swatting, I've never gotten the pizzas, but I
have had you know, I had a stalker show up
at my house. That person is no longer a live
but that has happened, so and it definitely is unsettling
and disturbing, and there is virtually no recourse for the
victims in it. So I totally get it. And so
if there's anything we can do to help, let us know.
Good luck on your meeting, and if you've got some
progress or some assistants needed to be sure and reach out.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, thank you, Pete.
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, that's Cassie Clark. She is the writer over
at the publisher of where thedogwood blooms dot com. You
can follow her at dogwood Blooms on Twitter as well.
Thanks so much, Cassie, I appreciate it all. Right, So
spring is here a time of renewal and celebrations. You've
got graduations, weddings, anniversaries and the special days for mom
and dad. Your family's making memories that are going to
last a lifetime. But let me ask you are all
of those treasured moments from days gone by? Are they
hidden away on old VCR tapes, eight millimeter films, photos slides?
Are they preserved? Because over time time these precious memories
can fade and deteriorate, losing the magic of yesterday. At
Creative Video, they help you protect what matters most. Their
expert team digitizes your cherished family moments and transfers them
onto a USB drive, freezing them in time so they
can be enjoyed for generations to come. I urge you
do not wait until it's too late this spring, celebrate
your past. Visit Creative Video today and let them preserve
your legacy with the love and care that it deserves.
Creative Video Preserving Family Memories since nineteen ninety seven, Located
in mint Hill, just off four eighty five. Mail orders
are accepted to get all the details that createavideo dot com.
I got an email from Mike Pete. You said a
stalker showed up at your house and he is no
longer alive, but you did not say how you killed him.
Please share and all right? So, the North Carolina General
Assembly is looking at a couple different bills regarding social
media and schools. North Carolina schools would be required to
teach students about social media risks under a bill that
is advancing in the state legislature. This from wrl's education
reporter Emily Walkinhorst. That's her name. Lawmakers are also trying
to use the measure to enact cell phone restrictions in classrooms.
House Bill nine p fifty nine passed a Senate committee yesterday,
and it would require schools to offer social media literacy lessons.
They would educate students on social media's effects on health,
including social, emotional, and physical effects. Students would learn about
the consequences of social media use once in elementary school,
once in middle school, and twice in high school. So, like,
I guess I envisioned this as something like sex ed
right where they scare you with the pictures of all
the STDs and stuff. I think that would be pretty compelling,
you know, like show like this is what happened, you know,
stories from the media, This is what happens when the
kids were you know, giving out information, and like this
is how people lure you into sending you know, compromising
photos and getting information from you and all of that.
Schools would be required to teach them about social media addiction, misinforma,
misinformation manipulation, cyber bullying, personal security, and the permanency of
the Internet, among many other things. It's one of several measures.
Earlier this month, the House passed a bill that would
ban social media accounts for kids under the age of fourteen,
and it would require parental permission for fourteen and fifteen
year olds to use social media. Right now, the federal
law requires a minimum age of thirteen to create an account,
and that's why I end up with these squeakers in
my Call of Duty games just anyway, but children can
easily get around the bands. To address that, House Bill
three to zero one would allow the state to find
social media companies fifty thousand dollars each time a younger
team sets up an account. Families of teens who managed
to get around the rules would also be allowed to
sue the companies for up to ten thousand dollars. I
am envisioning an army of twelve and thirteen year olds,
or twelve year olds. I guess an army of twelve
year olds hired by a competitor gaming company to go
and get on their competitors platform and then all the
charges and bankrupt your competitor. I mean, there's still some
kinks to work out in the plan. And you know,
the biggest problem with this scenario is, like I don't
have a tech company or anything, but if I did,
I'm just saying I might devote some time and energy
to research this as a as a as a practice,
you know, just to see if it's doable. Not that
I would do it. I mean I probably wouldn't even
do it, but I would just like, you know, explore
the options. You just want to know could I do it?
Not that I would, but could I do it? The
Senate in the House have passed bills that would restrict
cell phone use in schools, but they have not negotiated
a compromise on which bill to actually enact. So, as
I mentioned with Cassie Clark, you've got the crossover deadline
that has passed House and Senate versions of bills. They
cross over to the other chambers, they get worked on,
and if there are changes, then they you know, hammer
out the changes in the in a conference committee. Now,
Democrat Governor Josh Stein has called for cell phone restrictions
in school during his State of the State address last month,
he launched a new council to focus on students safety
and well being in One of its priorities is examining
cell phone use in classrooms. It is long pastime. The
evidence is in. This stuff is rot for kids' brains.
Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to
a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina.
Just a quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of
Asheville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon,
maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get
family and friends together for a big old reunion, Cabins
of Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you
can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that
truly matter. Nestled within the breath taking fourteen thousand acres
of the Pisga National Forest, their cabins offer a serene
escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally
located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great Smoky
Mountain National Park. It's the perfect balance of seclusion and
proximity to all the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces,
air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi grills, outdoor tables, and
your own private covered porch. Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages,
two villas, and a great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms.
Cabins of Ashville has the ideal spot for you for
any occasion, and they have pet friendly accommodations. Call her
text eight two eight three six seven seventy sixty eight
or check out all there is to offer at Cabins
of Aashville dot com and make memories that'll last a lifetime.
I'm going to pisaki back around here to the uh
Charlotte City councilwoman who got herself indicted today. I don't know,
maybe yesterday it came out the news release. I was
talking to Mark Garrison from the WBT news department, he's
our news director here, and he pointed out that the
press release dropped from the US Attorney's office at like
seven thirty am or something like that, and that's outside
the normal business hours. So how did that happen? Well,
is it possible the grand jury returned its indictment yesterday afternoon?
Did they sit on that because Councilwoman Tijuana Brown had
a town hall last night, and they do this, the
city council members do town halls throughout their districts, particularly
in election years, which this is so. City Councilwoman Tijuana
Brown indicted. According to federal prosecutors, she threw herself a
fifteen thousand dollars birthday party with a throne and a
horse drawn carriage using COVID pandemic relief funds that were
wired to her supposedly nonprofit. She and one of her
daughters are also accused of using relief money to purchase
items from luxury brand Louis Vuitton Brown. This is according
to the story at the Charlotte Observer, Brown is the
first formerly incarcerated person. That is the new term, I
guess that we are using for felons, convicted felons, right.
She served four years for fraud, as a matter of fact, Yeah,
for fraud. And that was so long ago though, that
was like in the nineties or something. And then she
got out and she got elected ran on the platform
of I'm a formerly incarcerated person or a FIP. I
guess an FIP, and she and her daughters, two adult daughters.
Now all three of them faced federal charges of using
fake never filed IRS forms and lying on loan applications
for the relief funds. Mark Garrison, news director here at WBT,
sent me some audio from the press conference that she held,
and I have not heard this, so let's take a listen.
It should be interesting.
Speaker 4: Are seeing this in the news. They're well aware of
your history. How can they have confidence in your ability
to continue to serve and your desire to continue to
serve in the future.
Speaker 5: NOH platform is based off second chances. It's based off
transparency and truth. I've did several interviews with you. I
always come forward, I'm always account but there's nothing to hide.
Speaker 1: Okay, hang on a second. You're all about second chances, Okay,
I would submit you got one of those when they
elected you, So this like that was the second chance.
So you check the box, got your second chance, good
to go. But you got elected I guess after this
alleged criminal activity, So I don't think you get another
second chance at the fraud. Although I guess. I guess
you had a second chance with the fraud, but you
allegedly opted to do it again, So I don't know
if that's actually a selling point here, because this would
be a third chance. So maybe just update your campaign flyers.
You're all about third chances. Maybe that's it. Okay. So
she's like, I've always been transparent, I'm always open all
of this.
Speaker 5: My residents know who I am. They know my history.
They know who I am, they know my history. My
history is not a secret. I lived my life on
my history. They are women that I meet at the door,
that come home with just a bag in the hand,
and they live in my house.
Speaker 3: The fans sent them there. Did they tell you that
I housed their women? They live with me.
Speaker 1: They're in one of my homes right now. This is okay,
But that that doesn't that doesn't allow you to file
fraudulent paperwork to get COVID pandemic money your nonprofit. And
then here's like part of the problem is that the
paperwork that was submitted claimed a certain amount of revenue,
claimed a certain amount of employees, and then she apparently
filed some paperwork or daughter filed exactly the same paperwork.
They use some tax documents that the IRS had never seen.
They were not on file at the IRS. So I
don't know where that came from, so stuff like that,
Like that that's a separate thing. Then whatever kind of
partnership or contract you've got to house women that are
just released from incarceration. Okay, So like that's a separate thing.
Speaker 5: The work that I do, it's who I am.
Speaker 6: You call the attack political, what do you think the
motivation is? If it's political?
Speaker 2: Agreeable?
Speaker 3: I paid the money back. No one had to tell
me to pay it back.
Speaker 5: If we're seeking justice and I paid back the twenty
and thirty three dollars that I'm accountable for, then why
are we here?
Speaker 1: Well, I think because they the Feds say that you're
accountable for more than just the twenty thousand. They've got
a number that's like one hundred thousand more than that.
That's what they say. Also, if you file the paperwork,
you do so under penalty of perjury, right Like that's
you swear in a test that everything you've provided is
the truth. And if you if you are lying in
order to commit a fraud, then actually paying the money
back that that does not alleviate the problem, because the
problem was you broke a law if you filed false
paperwork in order to get all of this money. But
you know, she's saying, she's answering the questions. Mike, Okay,
why are we here?
Speaker 3: So you got to put it if it's in a
matter of justice.
Speaker 5: And we're seeking justice and I paid it back, again,
why are we here?
Speaker 1: I just answered that.
Speaker 2: Can you?
Speaker 4: You mentioned earlier you said when you were kind of
first made aware of the questions about the relief money.
Speaker 2: Can you and when you paid it back?
Speaker 4: Can you walk this through a little bit of a timeline,
like when you first heard about the concerns and when
you paid it back.
Speaker 5: I had to say I was aware of any questions.
I just paid it back.
Speaker 1: Why would you have paid it back if it was
a forgivable loan through the pandemic stuff like you right,
the PPP loans? Right? Did you have to pay it back?
Because my understanding was that they've those were all forgiven.
So at some point did somebody say, hey, like you
filed this fake paperwork, you got to pay it back.
I'm not following what's going on here.
Speaker 5: Back, it was done BAT third party. The application was
submitted a BAT third party. So what I accept responsibility
for is maybe not scrutinized the application the way that
should happen.
Speaker 6: This is going to be a trial, so we're not
going to but.
Speaker 3: We're it's definitely going to be a trial.
Speaker 1: But I do want to say this, Hang on, did
she just throw her kids under the bus? So it
was filled out by a third party? Well, who's the
third party? So you're saying you did not fill out
the paperwork, but you signed it and then maybe you
didn't read it closely enough and okay, so who filled
it out? That would be my question if I was
at the press conference. All right, if you're listening to
this show, you know I try to keep up with
all sorts of current events, and I know you do too,
and you've probably heard me say get your news from
multiple sources. Why Well, because it's how you detect media bias,
which is why I've been so impressed with ground News.
It's an app and it's a website and it combines
news from around the world in one place so you
can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it
out at check dot ground, dot news slash Pete. I
put the link in the podcast description too. I started
using ground News a few months ago and more recently
chose to work with them as an affiliate because it
lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom.
The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored
by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check
dot Ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link
and you'll get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use
the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.
Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it
also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape
more transparent. Email from John who says, what I found
very telling is that she said she repaid the loan
as soon as she realized there was scrutiny over the application.
That sounds like she realized she was going to get
caught and was trying to get ahead of it. That's interesting. Uh,
who was on the phone there? Okay, well, if the
caller dropped off, so was going to go to the
phone there. But Tony says, what are the odds that
the idiot residents and voters in Charlotte will re elect her?
I'm checking fan duel now, Well, I mean that's that's
a good bet. I would say. All right, so there's
about a minute here left of this clip that Mark Garrison,
w BET news director sent me from the press conference,
which I appreciate. It was a longer press conference, but
I have not had time during my show to listen
to it all, and so I will pasaki back on
that and listen to the full presser. But here's the
last bit of this clip.
Speaker 5: When a person has something to hide, they don't send
out a press release, they don't show up and answer questions.
Speaker 3: And so I've done this my entire life.
Speaker 5: I travel the world, have a national footpoot fighting for
women that are needed, second chances, third chances, four chances,
and fifth chances.
Speaker 3: What I'm saying to you is, when.
Speaker 5: I found out there may have been any discrepancy in
the application that will submit about third party, I paid
it back. That's not in the paperwork that you have,
but I paid it back.
Speaker 1: Because the paying back doesn't it doesn't alleviate the crime.
You know, if you steal somebody's car, you drive it
around and then the police they call the police and
they're like, hey, my car is missing. And then you
return the car before you get caught, and the cops
are like, oh, you had their car, and you're like yeah, yeah,
but see I brought it back like, yeah, but you
still committed the crime of taking the car in the
first place. See, so bringing it back doesn't It doesn't
wash away the the penalties for the crime itself. And
considering like the work that she does, I would think
she would know this, and it was submitted.
Speaker 4: Defense say, the money was supposed to be used for payroll?
Did you use that money for payroll?
Speaker 6: Again, this is going to be for trial, so I
ask her not to answer these questions.
Speaker 4: The FED say, you spent thirty five hundred on a
venue for your birthday party, five thousand and catering, twenty
three hundred for photography, a rented throne, and a horse
drawn carriage?
Speaker 6: What was that party? The same answer on that one.
This is not the thid for us to try the case.
Speaker 1: So you call a news conference to claim you're innocent,
and then what because she's all right, let me reac
this hang on second, the.
Speaker 3: Way that I should happen.
Speaker 6: This is going to be a trial, So we're not gonna.
Speaker 3: But it's definitely going to be a trial.
Speaker 5: But I do want to say this, when a person
has something to hide, they don't send out a pressure release,
they don't show up and answer questions.
Speaker 1: But then you.
Speaker 4: Spent thirty five hundred on a venue for your birthday
party five thousand and catering twenty three hundred for photography.
I'll rent it throne and a horse drawn carriage. What
was that party?
Speaker 6: Same answer on that one. This is not the thid
for us to try the case.
Speaker 1: Okay, let me see if I have this standard correct.
If you're innocent of something, then you show up, you
put out a press release, and you show up at
a press conference and you answer questions. That's what you
do if you are innocent. And then the application of
that standard, as we just heard, your lawyer said, we're
not answering that question. So let me go back to
the standard. Innocent people answer the questions. Therefore it'll come
to me. Yeah, it'll come to me. I'm sure. Yeah,
it'll make it make sense somehow. Brown and her daughters
Charlotte Observer reports her daughters thirty year old to Gemma
or to Jima to Gemma Brown thirty and Antoinette Rouse
thirty three, could face a maximum of twenty years in
prison for each of the two charges that they face,
a wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud used to fall
mosely obtained pandemic relief loans. Prosecutors say that the trio
filed fifteen applications for loans from the Small Business Administration
from April twenty twenty through September twenty twenty one. Prosecutors
allege they quote lied about gross income and number of
employees to get about one hundred and twenty five thousand
dollars through the federal government's Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program
and the Paycheck Protection Program. Court documents show that Tijuana
Brown's two disaster loan applications were rejected, but she did
receive about twenty thousand from the PPP, so I guess
that's the money she returned. All right, that'll do it
for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I
could not do the show without your support and the
support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so
if you'd like, please support them too and tell them
you heard it here. You can also become a patron
at my Patreon page or go to the PA Calendar
show dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening,
and don't break anything while I'm gone.