HOPE MILLS — Months of social media turmoil and legal disputes led to a public apology from Mayor Hope Mills at a committee meeting Monday.
The apology was part of a settlement between Jackie Warner, who has served as mayor since 2011, and former commissioner Meg Larson in a lawsuit filed in Cumberland County in April, according to legal documents. According to the complaint, Warner violated the Public Records Act in 2020 and 2021, and even though dozens of people were blocked on her personal page, she used her personal Facebook profile on the mayor’s Facebook page. used as a page. North Carolina’s Public Records Act stipulates that government records must be available to the public, with limited exceptions, and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in 2019 that the public official’s Facebook page has ruled that it acts as a “public forum”. just to share an opinion.
“During her suspension of mayoral pages from 2020 to 2021, Warner will effectively use her profile as a mayoral page to share information with the town’s businesses and thereby serve the public in her capacity as mayor. I have communicated with people from
apology after 3 years
The lawsuit alleges that Larson was blocked from Warner’s personal profile in February 2020, preventing him from seeing the posts Warner shared on the mayor’s profile, even though he was not blocked on the mayor’s page. doing.
“As a result, plaintiff cannot view posts on her profile or comments posted by Mayor Warner on her Facebook page using her profile account, including those related to businesses in the town,” the complaint states. I’m here.
According to the complaint, this also applied to posts Warner made on his personal Facebook profile and shared to the mayor’s profile, as well as posts Warner posted from his personal profile to Facebook groups related to town issues. .
In the settlement agreement signed on January 9, Warner issued a written statement to Larson for “blocking voters and deleting voter comments,” as read aloud at a recorded Hope Mills Town Council meeting. I had to apologize to
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The apology was written by Sarah Ludington of the First Amendment Clinic at Duke Law School in Durham, who represented Larson in the lawsuit.
Warner said at the 7 p.m. meeting that an apology had been written before the statement was read out.
“By deleting and hiding posts and comments and blocking users, I’ve moved away from what was originally intended as a space for all citizens of Hope Mills to connect with me as mayor and discuss ongoing issues. It turns out that some citizens have been excluded from the town,” Warner read. “Now I have to apologize for my actions.”
demand accountability
Larson said in a phone call on Tuesday that he decided to file the complaint to promote government transparency and accountability of elected officials.
“It was very well known that she did that, but there aren’t many recourses for people to do anything in those situations,” she said.
Warner didn’t know Tuesday that blocking people on her personal Facebook page would prevent them from seeing the mayor’s page and other posts related to town issues.
Warner said, “I was advised not to leave derogatory, inflammatory or defamatory comments on my personal page.” I have forever blocked people writing in. I did it on my personal page and I did it in my business because they started interacting with my business.”
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According to the boutique’s Facebook page, Warner owns Carlene’s of Hope Mills, a shop that sells vintage toys, books and baby gifts.
“The original letter drafted by my lawyer did not accept them because in that letter the reason for blocking them was because of some kind of disparaging comment that I do not consider official business. ” said Warner.
Larson disputed that claim, saying the initial statement provided by Warner was inaccurate.
“It was about turning around the 35-plus people she blocked, rather than taking responsibility for the misconduct,” Larson said.
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Warner said she chose the settlement because she didn’t want to spend taxpayer money because a lawsuit had been filed against her in her capacity as mayor, over an issue she believed to be insignificant. I didn’t want to waste any more time.
“You don’t have to rely on me,” she said. “If you check other commissioners’ pages, many of them may have been blocked or hiding their comments, but I was the target. So hopefully the best thing for her town of Mills is to: It’s about moving forward.”
Warner is happy to make an apology and is willing to move on, citing the town’s recent accomplishments, including a $5 million grant from the state of North Carolina for a balanced budget and special interest projects. . But Larson alleges that Warner has already violated the terms of the settlement by commenting on posts about town businesses from her personal page and failing to show previously hidden comments. , I am not convinced that the lawsuit has ended.
“My main thing is that this is not about me,” Larson said. Yes, my name is the person in the lawsuit, but I am not the only one who has been denied access.”
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Screenshots of Warner’s Facebook page, which Larson said Warner provided as part of the settlement, show that at least 35 people were blocked on Warner’s personal page, though Larson said the number was as high as the complaint was filed. He said it was likely much more before it was done.
“In a small town like Hope Mills, treating citizens this way is almost a bullying tactic,” Larson said.
Warner, on the other hand, feels that the complaint is a significant distraction from Hope Mills’ important efforts.
“We have very good things going on,” she said. “The focus will be on trying to make it look like we’re not doing as well as we do now.”
Public Safety Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
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