Jody Greene, a white Republican, was elected sheriff of Columbus County, North Carolina in 2018, narrowly defeating Lewis Hatcher, the county’s first Black sheriff, by roughly 34 votes in a race that was litigated over Greene’s residency eligibility. X In February 2019, shortly after taking office, Greene called then-Captain Jason Soles and, believing Black employees had leaked information to Hatcher, said he was “sick of these Black bastards,” vowed to “clean house,” and specifically targeted Black deputy Melvin Campbell and Hatcher by name, calling them snakes who deserved to be fired. Campbell was fired within weeks. Soles tried for years to get the State Bureau of Investigation to act on the recording, but it wasn’t until he ran against Greene in the 2022 election and released the tape to local NBC affiliate WECT that September that it became public. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association denounced the comments and Greene resigned from that group, while District Attorney Jon David filed a petition to remove Greene from office, citing the racist comments alongside allegations of intimidating officials, an inappropriate relationship with an employee, and negligence tied to a detainee’s serious injury at the county jail. A judge suspended Greene pending that removal case, Greene still won reelection in November 2022, then resigned as sheriff for good in January 2023 after WECT reported a federal investigation was underway. That federal probe, run jointly by the FBI and IRS, has since expanded well beyond the racist recordings into allegations of obstruction of justice, financial kickbacks, money laundering, and tax evasion involving dozens of Columbus County business owners and officials. As of this year, more than 3 years after the recordings surfaced, no indictments have been filed, the SBI and DA’s office say the investigation remains active, and Greene has declined to comment. A local news nonprofit and The Assembly are now separately suing Columbus County for withholding public records connected to the case. He has resigned twice since the release of the recordings. Last resignation was in 2023. #RaceAtWorldWar #RAWW #BeBalance Insta: Justice_is_Just_us
