NC Democrat charged with statutory rape (10-09-2025--Hour1)

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He is one of the very few Democrats that would ever cross over to vote with Republicans, specifically on school choice issues. He was a proponent of school vouchers, the opportunity scholarship program more competition, and so he was arrested yesterday charged and he makes his first court appearance today at two pm. The county's detention center website says he lays out the charges he was picked up yesterday, and that is from w XII twelve dot com. So the reaction is now pouring in in the last couple of hours here as people became aware of his arrest after the news broke a few hours ago. This from the McClatchy papers, The News and Observer, the Charlotte Observer, and the Durham Herald's Son, all owned by McClatchy. This story is by Avi Bajpai, who is he's the politics state politics reporter for the papers. Top North Carolina Democrats and Republicans called on Representative Cecil Brockman, a Democrat, to immediately resign after he was arrested and charged Wednesday with taking indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape. I believe he's facing two charges in each of those categories. North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton, who's Breezy, said in a social media post this morning that Brockman should resign effective immediately. I am as surprised as anybody, but kind of not really. I will explain why Democrats are dare, i say, seizing on the opportunity here to call for him to resign. She said the profound seriousness of these criminal charges makes it impossible to represent his community. House Speaker Destin Hall said that the charges against Brockman are shocking and extremely serious. Given the evidence that's publicly known, he should resign immediately, so these charges do not distract from the work of the North Carolina House. Then there is this statement from the House Minority Leader Robert Reeves, the top Democrat in the House. He said that the allegations against Brockman are serious and if true, would disqualify him from public office. He added that this is a developing situation and it's important to let the legal process unfold. So he I mean, he kind of pulled up short there. It sounds like, right, he didn't say he should step down. He's saying they're serious charges and if true, would disqualify him. Well, you know what's your standard to determine if they are true? Well, that would be the criminal court proceedings, a trial, right, And so it's not an outright immediate call for him to resign right now. He is being held at the County jail in High Point. A magistrate denied Brockman pre trial release, saying that he has access to abundant resources to aid in his flight from prosecution. So we found a magistrate in North Carolina who will not release somebody like this back out onto the streets. So like baby steps here, I think that's progress. That's good. The magistrate also said in an order that Brockman quote, now this like this to me. Is bad. I mean, obviously the charges are really bad, but this supporting evidence because we don't know really the details here, and you've got a minor involved, because the victim was thirteen to fifteen years old, and from what I understand, the victim was fifteen years. Old, and the crime allegedly occurred. I'm guessing there were molt there were at least two instances of this that occurred, and apparently it was like in August of this year, and I believe they were fifteen. The victim was fifteen, so their identity is being obviously withheld. We don't know a lot of the details of what the you know, the nature of the allegations. We just have the charges, but in making the decision not to release Brockman or even give them bail, the magistrate also said in the order to hold him that Brockman quote has made attempts to contact the victim in this case and has gone as far as attempting to locate the juvenile in the hospital and attempting to use his status to gain information on the whereabouts of the victim. Okay, so like that's all I know at this point, and I don't know, like I don't know if Brockman does work with kids or something. I don't know if he's like part of some you know, private school or charter school or something like that. I don't know his background. But usually when you know you've got when you've got a Democrat who's crossing over to vote with Republicans on the school choice issue, they generally have some sort of, you know, personal knowledge of the way the public school system has been failing kids. And before we know any more of the details here, I would just point out that when you know, if he was some sort of an educator and this was a student kind of a relationship, right, Like, we don't know if he's trying to locate this kid, or he's trying to talk to the kid because he's trying to you know, obviously influence the kid to drop the charges or something, right, trying to intimidate a witness, but although he's not charged with that, but or intimidate a victim. Right, that's obviously like that's where my mind goes immediately. But I also have to consider the possibility that he's wrongfully accused and he's trying to you know, reach the kid to say, what are you doing, Like, stop doing this. This is going to hurt me, it's going to hurt you, this is not worth it. Whatever. So we don't know, waiting for more of the details. To emerge, but I will point that out just to kind of keep it out there. Now. There are political implications here because he is a North Carolina Democrat. He's in the House, and. He has in the past voted with Republicans on certain issues like school choice that angered a lot of the Democrat party leadership. Right, they and the like the Young Democrats of North Carolina Caucus and like those organizations, like there are a lot of these Democrats have like I think a billion caucuses now, and so they they have all these different groups, and they had targeted Brockman among others that would ever cross over to vote with Republicans on anything. So they would go out and they would field primary candidates to try to knock off these these incumbent Democrats because they were trying to, you know, protect a Democrat voting block right. So I suspect that the call I mean, I would like to believe that they would immediately well, that they should call for him to resign based on the seriousness of the charges. Destin Hall did that he's a Republican though, well, what is the political motivation there? Well, if Brockman resigns his seat, say immediately, the local party can't step in and make a recommendation. They can't replace him. Yet they have to run through a process, which means Republicans could try to bring back all of those governor vetos and override them before Democrats get somebody into that seat. 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. 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His brother John Lowry, who is also chairman of the Lumbee Indian Tribe, was elected by the Robinson County Republican Executive Committee to take his place. But I don't know if he has been sworn in yet. I don't know either, So losing this Democrat pervert representative, does that really change the balance of the total votes for a veto override until the Republican has actually sworn in. I don't know if the governor has approved Lowry yet, right, So if we're waiting on the governor to approve Lowry then, which is usually just a formality. Stein Governor Stein, who, by the way, just within the last hour I think, also is now called for Cecil Brockman to step down to resign after he was arrested and charged with statutory rape and taking in decent liberties with a minor. He may slow walk the appointment the you know, the final approval or something for the Republican because if he were to appoint him, maybe he already has I don't know. I'll have to. Check if he because if you end up with Lowry getting into the seat before Brockman's replacement can be put into their seat, then you end up overcoming that that one vote deficit that Republicans need in order to override Vetos. So like all of these. Kind of machinations and like that, that stuff is going on. People are now getting you know, the lay of the land, and they're looking at calendars and how do we get somebody into this seat very quickly? How do we get a vote together? Like all of this stuff is now happening, but it's still it depends on whether Brockman steps down on his own. If he doesn't, the House could try to remove him. Believe they did that once before. I think it was in like the eighties or something, but there's not really there's not any recent history of this. I mean, the last time would have been I think it was in like eighty but maybe not. I may be a mistaken on that. But they can't I think they can do it. They could try to expel somebody from the from the body, So I don't know, I don't know. We shall see, but yeah, the timing of this is going to be critical and I suspect Democrats are going to you know, lay the groundwork as they need to in order to protect this seat and to protect that that one vote in order to prevent an override of some of the vetos that Governor Josh Stein has signed that are kind of waiting right now that the Senate has already overridden, and Republicans have been clear, they've said, like, if we you know, we're in session, we're we're in the building, and we you know, do a head count and see that Democrats haven't shown up in sufficient enough numbers, We're going to call for a veto override vote on these remaining bills. It's what they did, It's what they always do. They have the bills sitting there waiting, and if Democrats don't show up one day, then the Republicans say, move to, you know, override this veto. Boom, the vote is held, boom, veto's overridden. So it requires Democrats to actually be in the chamber every single day all the time, which they don't really they don't really appreciate all the time. Danny says, I sure hope this is not a false accusation. Democrat unaffiliated or Republican it's no good, whether true or false. I really don't like that these things happen. I really don't like false accusations. Either is not a win. Yeah, I mean like, but it's something that you have to keep in mind. Particularly and again I don't know, I'm trying to remember what Brockman's line of work is or if he was working with troubled youth like that would be something to keep an eye on, like if he's dealing with like there was or there is. I believe it was Quentin Miller, the sheriff up in Bunkholm County, and Republicans tried to make a big deal about these police reports that were that were filed against him by minors, by a minor maybe I think it's been several years and they tried to make a big deal about it. But when you when you get the details of what occurred, he was false. He was a foster parent. He and his wife were fostering kids, and sometimes you get kids in there that have troubles and one of them ran away from home and you know, he went and got them, and they, you know, accused him of abuse or something and nothing ever came of it. So like that stuff does happen, So I again, I don't know that to be the case. Here. These are very serious charges, and you know, we need to know what the what the details are, I mean some of them. I don't need to know all of them. I don't want to know all of them, but in order to sort of make a better informed judgment. And like we haven't heard from Brockmann. He could very well get out and say like this is all false accusation, this is a troubled kid or whatever, and then he could be lying about that too. Like keep that in mind as well. Couldn't the legislature go ahead with the veto override since the guy is in jail and cannot be there to vote. I guess they could unless Representative Lowry hasn't been seated, so you're still at a one one vote, one vote deficit, so it would be equal basically, So you would need to wait to see if Lowry. I'll do a search and see if Lowery got appointed. I don't think he has because I think that story was last week, so I don't think he has been formally approved yet, and I. Don't know if there's a timeline on that. I also see Steven Wiley who Stephen Wiley, who is a partner at nc Folkrum. But he was also longtime campaign guy for the North Carolina House of Representatives, the Republicans. He would help recruit candidates and work on their campaigns and stuff. And he's got some info on Brockman, which seems to indicate a man who is spiraling. So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, and before he died, my mom and my dad took care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers and family. 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You can go to alz dot org slash walk for all the dates and locations. We're closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us get there? Will you walk with me? For a different future, for families, for more time for treatments. This is why we walk, all. Righty, So went and looked up the process here and this is according to Brave the Brave Browser, their AI search results, their summarization that they offer, and they've got footnotes and such which check out. So Cecil Brockman is the Democrat now charged with these, you know, crimes against a child, and he's got a court appearance at two o'clock today being called on to resign by Democrats. The governor called on him to resign, the state Democrat party chair called on. Him to resign. The Republican Speaker of the House has called on him to resign. So it's all coming, you know, coming from all quarters. Does this effect the balance of power in the House, because right now Republicans have a one seat majority. However, Jared Lowry resigned to take a position in the Trump administration. Jared Lowery represents part of Robinson County, and so that meant that it was an even split. Then because they lost that that representative not an even split, It's not even. So the Republicans have a one seat majority necessary to override vetos. They have a large majority in the House. Okay, they have a large majority, but if they want to override the governor's vetos, they are one seat short of having that super. Majority to do so. Okay, sorry, So they lost that that that one seat, then it became two seats basically that they had they had to peel away two Democrats. But now with Brockman in this legal trouble, if he is out, then it becomes even easier for Republicans than to override the governor's vetos which are sitting there in the House waiting for votes. Okay, so Jared Lowry resigns and he is then replaced he had He was replaced by his older brother John, selected by the Robinson County Republican Party Executive Committee to replace his brother. The committee unanimously recommended John Lowry to the governor to fill the vacancy that was created. That took effect the vacancy I guess takes effect or took effect yesterday. State law requires the governor to appoint the individual recommended by the departing legislatorwards political party, and Governor Stein has seven days to formalize the appointment. So Stein can slow. Walk that for a week in order to give the North Carolina Democrats time to put somebody else in Brockman's seat and then do them at the same time, and then everything remains the same. I suspect that's what he'll do. If it's a big if, If Brockman steps aside, if he doesn't step aside, if he doesn't resign his seat amid these charges, then things become more difficult for the Democrats. Right, So we got a week, So today's Thursday, so a week from today, we'll see what happens. Let me get to I mentioned that Brockman seems to have been spiraling somewhat. Stephen Wiley, I mentioned him before the break, used to work with the House Republicans, recruiting candidates, helping them with their campaigns, doing oppo research, doing media buys and stuff. I've interviewed him several times over the years. He posted up on Twitter formerly known as x that the detail. He says the. Details are abhorrent and if true, Brockman must resign immediately. It seems like Brockman may also misrepresented living in his district, getting evicted from an apartment earlier this year that is in House District fifty nine. Brockman has claimed to live at eleven sixty six Roberts Lane, which is owned by his mom. So he has claimed to be living at the home with his mother, But he just got evicted from an apartment in a different district. That's a problem. That means he wasn't living with his mom, he had a different apartment, he wasn't living in his district. And apparently she was also sued this week by a plaintiff represented by Chris Anglin. Does that name ring a Belle Chris Anglin lawyer, Yeah, that guy Chris Anglin who registered as a Republican to run in the state Supreme Court race so he could siphon votes away from the incumbent Republican Supreme Court justice and she lost to Anita Earls. That Chris Anglin, he is representing somebody suing Brockman's mother. See what I mean, Like these are like there's some stuff going on. I'm not sure what's going on, but it's like this when you start seeing some of these stories come down the pike all together, it's like, this looks like a guy whose life is unraveling. You know what else? Chris Cooper, professor at Western Carolina Full Disclosure, former fraternity brother of mine. It went through. He says, the General Assembly does have the power to remove sitting legislators, but there is no set clear process to governing the rules or the criteria. Essentially, they create new rules every time they want to do it. The one thing that is clear is what happens to a vacant seat. The incumbent candidate's party nominates somebody to fill the unexpired term, and then the governor approves it, same process. If somebody dies or resigns their post, the last member of the General Assembly to be expelled. Okay, so I got this wrong. Was Thomas right in two thousand and eight, so it's a little. Bit more recent. I thought it was in the eighties. But anybody who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony is disqualified from serving according to the state constitution. How that would play out not really sure, but filing for the twenty twenty sixth election is in early December. You know, stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. 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They are your life told through the eyes of everyone around you and all who came before you, and they will tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video dot com. Alrighty, so Cecil Brockman, the state representative from Guilford County, arrested yesterday. He's got a court appearance in about an hour. Indecent liberties with a minor and statutory rape charges I believe two charges of each. The victim, reportedly of fifteen year old was The fifteen year old was at a hospital and Brockman, allegedly, according to the McClatchy reporting, tried to get access to the victim. Tried to It sounds like he pulled one of the do you know who I am? Or maybe he flashed some sort of I don't want to say badge, but like maybe his legislative ID or something, you know, try to use his credentials to get in. That's what it seems like it's not the exact reporting, but that's what it kind of sounds like occurred that he tried to tried to use his position in order to gain access to the victim. I would imagine it would be to get the victim to drop the charges to recant. Whether that's because they were you know, false allegations or true, we don't know. We haven't heard from him at all, but obviously the state Democrat Party, the leadership of the Republican Party, basically everybody's calling for him to resign. Stepped down. And there was a comment made by our friend Andrew Dunn, who is the publisher of Long Leave Politics. We talked to Andrew every Tuesday here on the program him and he's also a contributing columnist for the Charlotte Observer and used to be the comms guy for Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest in his campaign. So Andrew posted onto Twitter number one, the allegations are horrifying. Number two. Democrats are going to be privately ecstatic about this. Brockman was one of the Democrat House members who would occasionally vote with Republicans. I imagine he'll resign, and then the Guildford County Democratic Party would get to pick a replacement who will tow the party line. And I think I think Andrew is exactly right, Like I can separate these two things in my head that there is like this awful crime, right if he's guilty of like this, this horrendous act, and yeah, obviously punish that guy, you know, put him under the jail, like don't ever want to hear from him again, Like your life is now ruined, just like you scarred this poor child. Then there is the second component, which is the politics of the matter, because he is a politician, and most importantly, he is a Democrat that has crossed over to vote with Republicans. That has angered Democrats for years years they put candidates up against their own to try to primary him. He has talked about the bouts of depression that he has gone through. I want to say that he is I believe I think he was the first openly gay state representative in North Carolina. And he has talked about like the abuse he has taken, like in his like long before he got into politics, but then the abuse he has taken since he's been in politics, and is battles with depression and such and so they've been going after him for a while. So like them rising up immediately to say he needs to step down. Yes, that's the right call, but sometimes doing the right thing is also good politics for you, you know, and in this case for Democrats, it is saying he should step aside immediately, he should resign his post. That's the right thing to call for, but it's also good politics for the Democrats because now they don't have to primary him. They can just get him out and then put the person up there and replace him with whoever it was that ran against him in the Democrat primary last year. Right, they basically won the election. They got rid of this guy who would work with Republicans on a couple of issues. And it is just a couple like you're gonna hear, and well, here you go. We have in the response on Twitter, this is from somebody with a ridiculously long last name. I don't think it's accurate. I don't think it's an actual name, but it's this is what they say. It's a great day when someone who hurts a child is held accountable. Number two, it's no surprise that another pedophile was aligned with the GOP. Wait, excuse me, Brockman is aligned with the GOP. Really Democrat lawmaker elected multiple times to Guildford County safe blue seat. He is aligned with the GOP because he voted with them on the on the on the school voucher issue, like but this is And then there was a response from a guy who used to work here at the City of Charlotte. He says, I don't think anybody is privately ecstatic about someone allegedly committing horrible crimes because it may change a house seat. I think they're just horrified. And I pointed out, like six weeks ago, I may have agreed with you on that, but since then I've seen the reaction to Charlie Kirk's assassination, So yeah, I'm not so sure anymore. 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 dpetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while i'm gone,