Re: Henry County Reporter

It has come to my attention that my name has been mentioned in connection with a story published by Jon Carroll on The Henry County Reporter:

“It is home to one of the south’s most recognized domestic terror and hate groups, their funding in part coming from those who sit in black robes and judge those men of color who come before them. Members of the groups that are in political offices, work in the court system and law enforcement, remain a tightly guarded secret. The Council of Conservative Citizens have a chapter, and the hate group Occidental Dissent headed by Eufaula native Brad Griffin that openly encourages the persecution and deportation of people of color. Griffin in the photo at Eufaula’s Shorter Mansion is pictured below being honored by the community. He is further identified by recent article by AL.com on hate groups thats an eye opener. Griffen reportedly has deep ties and is supported by Judge Leon “Burt ” Smithart and District Attorney Ben Reeves. Griffin it has been alleged felt strongly that a white juvenile probation officer who dated Dickerson should not be allowed to serve the court as interracial dating could not be tolerated in a place like Barbour county.”

Over the past two years, The Henry County Reporter, previously known as The Barbour County Enquirer, has earned a well deserved reputation in our community for publishing false, libelous, and defamatory statements about a number of prominent citizens in Eufaula, Barbour County, and the Black Belt and Wiregrass regions. The targets of its yellow journalism have ranged from our local veterinarian to the sheriff of Barbour County to Judge Burt Smithart to the Eufaula Police Department, etc, etc.

In this hilarious story, Jon Carroll spins a tall tale that I personally have “deep ties” to Judge Burt Smithart and District Attorney Ben Reeves. For the record, I don’t know either of these two fine men, but if they are being smeared by the likes of Jon Carroll, then I would say that probably reflects well on their moral character. The truth of the matter is that my own cousin, Robbie Pelham, writes for Jon Carroll’s website. Therefore, I have greater “ties” to Jon Carroll’s website than I have to most of the targets of his sensationalist attacks in Barbour County and well beyond.

What’s more, I don’t know Will Dickerson. I don’t know anyone who has ever dated him. I haven’t followed or written anything about his trial and can’t tell you the first thing about it. I write about national and state issues, not stories which are only of local interest. I can definitively say that Judge Burt Smithart has not made any financial contributions to the Council of Conservative Citizens. He’s not a member of our organization. Judge Smithart is just another target of a well known smear merchant.

The Council of Conservative Citizens is a pro-White, pro-Southern, pro-Christian organization. I joined the group in 2010 because of a shared interest in Southern history and race relations. Eufaula is one of the most beautiful antebellum communities in the State of Alabama, and it would be a shame if leftwing hatemongers, iconoclasts and smear artists were to tear down our Confederate monument, condemn the Shorter Mansion for glorifying slavery, or violate the graves of our fallen ancestors who nobly defended their Barbour County homes in the War Between the States.

Finally, I don’t support “domestic terrorists.” I don’t support the actions of violent fanatics. In fact, such is my lack of interest in violence that I don’t even go deer hunting. It’s a shame that there are violent criminals in Eufaula. I think Jon Carroll should stop defending them and bothering people who don’t even know them.