Free Republic

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said eight people were arrested Saturday during a 10-hour "protest and standoff" that stemmed from an Eritrean "cultural event." Clashes erupted between rival groups of Eritreans, and police confirmed that officers trying to disperse the unlawful crowds were attacked by people wielding sticks, rocks and other items. Crowds also set a tractor on fire in North Carolina's largest city, and police seized a total of two firearms over the course of several hours. Fox News Digital reached out to the department Sunday seeking the identities and more information about those eight arrested. The incident first...

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office has announced that it will no longer be pulling over drivers for non-moving violations. Deputies said they will not be stopping drivers for things like inspection violations, driving with a revoked license, having window tinting that’s too dark or having a taillight out. The sheriff’s office said this change in policy is part of an effort to address racial inequality that they said is apparent in traffic stops. Channel 9′s Glenn Counts spoke with a community activist who is applauding this decision. Robert Dawkins, with Action NC, said officers used minor...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) – A North Carolina senator is calling for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) to resign after he made comments referring to homosexuality as filth. Sen. Jeff Jackson (D-Mecklenburg) called for the resignation after Right Wing Watch tweeted out a clip of Robinson on Wednesday. Robinson was speaking at Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove in June when he made the comments. “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth. And yes I called it filth. And if you don’t like that I called it filth, come see...

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Although it wasn’t unanimous, Mecklenburg county elections director Michael Dickerson said he’s happy with the work the elections department did in getting the election result certified. “I felt very good about what we did here,” Dickerson said. “In the end, it passed, albeit 3-2.” The two no votes came from the two Republicans on the board.

**SNIP** Some in North Carolina are ready for the state to reopen. A protest group, “Reopen Meck,” has nearly 1,000 members on Facebook as of Monday morning. “This group is intended to be an offshoot of the overarching ReopenNC movement,” the group’s description states. “With classes and work for many of us, it is difficult to drive up to Raleigh and protest. As a result, I felt that those of us living in and around Meck would find this group more accessible.” “Let’s restore our liberties and freedoms no later than April 29th, 2020.” The group was created April 15....

Oscar Pacheco-Leonardo ICE is blasting the Mecklenburg County Sheriff for releasing a rape suspect in Charlotte. ICE re-arrested the suspect In August 2019 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Oscar Pacheco-Leonardo, 33, in Charlotte, NC. Oscar is a Honduran national, and illegally present in the United States. Oscar is accused of raping a child. Oscar was originally arrested by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for First Degree Rape and two counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child on June 14, 2019. ICE issued a detainer June 15 on Oscar, but the detainer was not honored by the Mecklenburg County...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested a Honduran man after deputies in Mecklenburg County released him, despite rape and child sex charges. Authorities say Oscar Pacheco-Leonardo, 33, a repeat immigration violator, was targeted during an enforcement operation in Mecklenburg County on Aug. 9. According to a release from ICE, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office refused to honor an ICE detainer, or even notify ICE of the release, resulting in Pacheco’s release, despite first-degree rape and indecent liberties with a minor charges. Pacheco was previously removed from the United States to Honduras in July 2006, and...

Democrats on the Charlotte, North Carolina City Council have asked the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) to “cut back” on enforcement of drunk-driving laws in neighborhoods with large illegal immigrant populations, because illegal immigrants apparently are “nervous to see the cops.” “We start tonight with pressure on Charlotte police to cut illegal immigrants a break when it comes to speeding and drunk driving,” reported Mike Garrison of WBT Radio on Feb. 12. “Democrats on city council are asking the cops to cut back on traffic checkpoints and drunk-driving enforcement in neighborhoods where illegals live,” said Garrison. “The reason? It makes illegal immigrants nervous...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s elections board sent to prosecutors Wednesday the case of a state House member whom investigators allege failed to report over $140,000 in campaign contributions expenditures over several years. The elections panel voted unanimously to send their findings involving Democratic Rep. Rodney Moore of Charlotte and his campaign to the Mecklenburg County district attorney for possible charges. The board decided there is “clear and convincing evidence” that false campaign reports were signed while treated under oath as complete and correct, as well as that unlawful spending of campaign contributions occurred.

Hundreds of 1,000-year-old silver coins, rings, pearls and bracelets linked to the era of Danish King Harald Gormsson have been found on the eastern German island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea. A single silver coin was first found in January by two amateur archaeologists, one of them a 13-year-old boy, in a field near the village of Schaprode. The state archaeology office then became involved and the entire treasure was uncovered by experts over the weekend, the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania state archaeology office said Monday.

CHARLOTTE, NC — A newspaper carrier was found dead in the road and a second person was reportedly found wounded early Wednesday in a typically peaceful part of uptown near popular Romare Bearden Park. Police are focusing their investigation on the 300 block of West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The man found dead was identified as Walter “Wes” Scott Jr., 65. He lived in Lancaster County, S.C., south of Charlotte. Scott worked delivering newspapers in uptown for more than 40 years. He was under contract with a company that is also under contract to deliver The Charlotte Observer in...

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have charged a man in connection with the killing of a newspaper carrier in uptown Charlotte Wednesday. Roger Best, 22, is accused in the murder of Walter “Wes” Scott Jr., 65, who was shot Wednesday at 2:20 a.m. while delivering newspapers to a convenience store near Romare Bearden Park. Investigators believe he was killed during an attempted robbery. The suspect is charged with murder, attempted armed robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Police said he was shot during the encounter with Scott and is being treated for gunshot wounds at Carolinas Medical Center. Once released,...

A North Carolina school board has issued recommendations for faculty and staff to stop calling male children "boys" and female students "girls." The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools gave a presentation to principals and counselors entitled “Supporting Transgender Students” that focused on "bully prevention." Among the various means of preventing bullying is eliminating all references to boys or girls. Instead, the policy instructs staff to call boys and girls "students" or "scholars." The presentation explained a new set of guidelines for faculty and staff to follow regarding transgender students. For instance, teachers will be required to "work with students" to help them determine...

In between bowls of chicken poodle soup and deciding to provide air cover for al-Qaeda in Syria, our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, found time to meet with mayors from our crumbling major cities. From Justin Sink of The Hill: *** "President Obama told a collection of big-city mayors Tuesday at the White House that he would continue to use executive actions to combat gun violence plaguing major cities. In the meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and the mayors of 18 cities from across the nation, Obama discussed commonly applicable strategies to reduce youth violence. 'He also vowed to...

CHARLOTTE, NC - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools may look at a new option in its effort to help African-American males succeed in the education system. District superintendent Dr. Heath Morrison created 22 task forces to tackle a variety of issues the school district had to deal with. One of those task force was tasked with ongoing issues dealing with African-American males in CMS. The task force made several recommendations, including beginning a planning phase to open a K-12 African-American male school during the 2015-2016 school year. One black male student thinks that would be a great idea. "The African American male wouldn't...

The Democratic National Convention may be long over, but its organizers have not forgotten the almost half a million dollars worth of electronics they seem to have lost. Organizers of the Charlotte, N.C., convention have filed a police report for lost and stolen electronics, some of which they appear to have valued at as much as 62 times the listed market prices. A reportedly stolen 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop? $75,537. The price listed on the Apple website is $1,199. A lost iPhone? $30,503. A lost Blackberry? $54,250. The DNC did not respond to a request for comment. Calls to the...

Shocking Past of Former Priest Who Was Killed In Palmer Fire YouNewsTV™Story Published: May 15, 2008 at 6:58 PM EDT Story Updated: May 16, 2008 at 3:13 PM EDT By Liz Tufts Watch The Story The shocking past of Andre Corbin is coming to light, just days after the former priest was killed in an apartment fire in Palmer. Andre Corbin was arrested in 1988 for molesting a boy at a church in North Carolina. According to a website that highlights the history of sexual abuse by priests, it says Corbin plead guilty to the accusations and was sentenced to...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte-Mecklenburg police supervisors offered prizes to officers who wrote the most traffic tickets during an eight-day period over the July Fourth holiday. Five officers from the department's North Division earned $10 gift certificates to Dick's Sporting Goods, although officials Wednesday couldn't say how many tickets were issued between July 1-8. Police Chief Darrel Stephens and Maj. John Diggs, who oversees the division, said they were not aware of the contest until they were contacted Wednesday by The Charlotte Observer. "I don't think there is anything inherently evil or bad about rewarding officers for putting in extra effort...

The 2004 elections brought a conservative sweep to much of the nation, but Mecklenburg County was not part of it. As a result, our County Commission came back under the control of liberal Democrats and the arrogant and extremist liberal Parks Helms re-assumed his position as chairman of the County Commission. It should be no surprise to any of us that in his first months back in his position, he has worked tirelessly to expand government and raise taxes. But this week, he announced another item on his agenda -- one that calls for economic and social conservatives to respond...

Hundreds of NC FreedomWorks Members Rally in Raleigh Activists fight tobacco tax increase, demand smaller government Contact: Allen Page Phone: (336) 213-1167 Email: apage@freedomworks.org Raleigh, North Carolina - Today, Governor Mike Easley and many North Carolina legislators got a lot more than they bargained for when they proposed a massive tax increase on smokers. That’s because over 400 FreedomWorks activists traveled from all across the North Carolina to the state Capitol to tell their representatives and senators: “We Want Less”. During the 6th annual ‘FreedomWorks CSE Day at the Capitol’, activists focused on the campaign against the 900 percent increase...