Cassie Clark pushes for tougher cyberstalking laws in NC (05-22-2025--Hour3)

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? I think influencer works. It's not my favorite because I'm actually not selling anything, but it works. 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? 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? 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? Yeah? 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. Absolutely, thank you, Pete. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The fans sent them there. Did they tell you that I housed their women? They live with me. 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. The work that I do, it's who I am. You call the attack political, what do you think the motivation is? If it's political? Agreeable? I paid the money back. No one had to tell me to pay it back. 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? 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? So you got to put it if it's in a matter of justice. And we're seeking justice and I paid it back, again, why are we here? I just answered that. Can you? You mentioned earlier you said when you were kind of first made aware of the questions about the relief money. Can you and when you paid it back? 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. I had to say I was aware of any questions. I just paid it back. 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. 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. This is going to be a trial, so we're not going to but. We're it's definitely going to be a trial. 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. When a person has something to hide, they don't send out a press release, they don't show up and answer questions. And so I've done this my entire life. I travel the world, have a national footpoot fighting for women that are needed, second chances, third chances, four chances, and fifth chances. What I'm saying to you is, when. 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. 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. Defense say, the money was supposed to be used for payroll? Did you use that money for payroll? Again, this is going to be for trial, so I ask her not to answer these questions. 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? What was that party? The same answer on that one. This is not the thid for us to try the case. 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. Way that I should happen. This is going to be a trial, So we're not gonna. But it's definitely going to be a trial. 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. But then you. 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? Same answer on that one. This is not the thid for us to try the case. 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.