Sheriff in NC reelected after resignation for racist remarks

A North Carolina sheriff who resigned in late October following a leaked recording of his derogatory 2019 rant about Black employees has been reelected to the role by Columbus County voters.

Jody Greene’s re-election campaign proved successful as midterm votes rolled in on Nov. 8, with the sheriff securing over 10,000 votes to beat challenger Jason Soles, who received fewer than 8,500 votes, according to CBS.

Roughly two weeks prior to election day, on Oct. 24, a hearing for Greene’s removal was to be held. District Attorney Jon David accused Greene of making “highly inappropriate and racially charged statements” about multiple Black colleagues in a recorded phone call, per the outlet.

However, David called off the proceedings due to attorney Michael Mills’ announcement of Greene’s resignation, a decision Mills said the sheriff reached because he “loves Columbus County and does not want to put the people he has served through this ordeal,” as previously reported by theGrio.

The recording of the 2019 phone call was first given to WECT-TV by Soles, who was on the other line, in September. Soles, the former sheriff’s captain who had briefly assumed sheriff’s duties at the time, was speaking to Greene shortly after he was elected as sheriff in 2018 over Lewis Hatcher, the county’s first-ever Black sheriff, per CBS.

During the explicit rant, Greene disclosed to Soles his suspicions about someone from within the office leaking to Hatcher information that prompted an investigation into Greene’s residency status, as reported by the outlet.

“I’m sick of these Black bastards. I’m gonna clean house and be done with it,“ Greene said, according to court documents reviewed by CBS. “…They’re gone. I’m telling you. That’s as fair as I’m gonna be. … if they’re not with me, they’re against me. And they’re gone. … If I have to fire every mother f***er out there, guess what?”

“I’m still the motherf***ing sheriff, and I’ll go up and fire every goddamn [inaudible]. F*** them Black bastards,” Green added, per the outlet. “They think I’m scared? They’re stupid. I don’t know what else to do with it. So it’s just time to clean them out. There’s a snitch in there somewhere tellin’ what we are doing. And I’m not gonna have it. …hell is coming.” 

While Greene initially denied making the statements, he wrote a Facebook post the day following his Oct. 24 resignation in which he apologized for the language, per CBS.

“This has been a humbling experience,” he wrote. “I am sincerely sorry for the disrespectful and insensitive words that have offended my friends, colleagues, and fellow citizens. I ask for forgiveness.” 

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