“Sorry LGBT people, your marriages are invalid – so sayeth CRAIG.”
Watch the great Trae Crowder take down “broke-brained” Islamophobic, homophobic D.A. Northcott’s refusal to recognize the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling in his 1st episode of #DoWhatNow?
Coffee County resident Cindy Lowe this week filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility against District Attorney Craig Northcott for an “Ethics Violation” in connection with an alleged domestic assault incident that took place in 2015, in which she believes Northcott neglected to prosecute her abuser because Joseph Floied was the brother of Manchester Assistant Chief of Police Adam Floied, and proceeded to maliciously pursue charges against her because she wouldn’t stop seeking justice.
This comes on the heels of over 300 Tennessee lawyers filing a complaint of their own seeking to have Northcott’s license suspended due to the statements The Holler surfaced back in June that clearly show he does not believe domestic violence laws should be used to protect people in same-sex relationships despite the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling.
Northcott has been in the spotlight lately as the special prosecutor handling the case of civil rights activist Justin Jones, who is charged with assault for an incident with soon to be ex-speaker Glen Casada.
We recently outed Northcott’s open Islamophobia and homophobia, and his refusal to obey the supreme court’s marriage equality ruling, both of which which contributed to the decision by Jones to file a motion to have Northcott removed from the case.
That motion is still pending.
We’ve also reported on Northcott’s curious decision not have the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation look into whether or not Casada’s office falsified evidence to have Jones thrown in jail – even though the TBI has offered to do so, and Casada’s chief of staff has emailed Northcott encouraging him to do so as well.
Both Northcott’s unwillingness to respect the Supreme Court’s authority with regard to marriage equality and his refusal to call in the TBI speak to Northcott’s clear belief that District Attorneys are all-powerful and answer to virtually nobody. Northcott has even said as much in the past, where he told an audience:
“DAs have what’s called prosecutorial discretion. Y’all need to know who your DA is. Y’all give us a lot of authority whether you know it or not, we can choose to prosecute anything. We can choose not to prosecute anything, up to and including murder. It’s our choice, unfettered.”
The incident with Cindy Lowe may be yet another example. The complaint says the following:
“On May 24, 2015, Deputies from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to the residence of Cindy Lowe to perform a welfare check. Upon arrival the Deputies encountered Cindy Lowe and Joseph Floied in an apprehensive state. Deputies immediately noticed obvious injuries to Ms. Lowe. These injuries included blood on her face, bruising to her arm, and an unequivocal bite mark to her right arm. Due to the obvious and abundant injuries to Ms. Lowe, the Deputies encouraged Ms. Lowe to press charges against Mr. Floied.”
It goes on to say that Mr. Floied then told the deputies he was the brother of Manchester Police Department Assistant Chief Adam Floied, at which point they made a “courtesy call” to Adam, who came and picked his brother up and took him away without arrest.
Ms. Lowe says she “aggressively pursued justice with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney Craig Northcott’s Office”, concerned that Floied would “evade justice” because of his connection to Manchester PD.
More from the complaint:
“During the early part of the investigation by Sgt. Danny Ferrell, Ms. Lowe was assured that it was clear to Sgt. Ferrell who the aggressor was and that based upon the evidence, she could not be charged. Later, after Ms. Lowe continued to aggressively pursue movement in the case, Sgt. Ferrell reversed course and declared that he would file charges against both Ms. Lowe and Joseph Floied. Ms. Lowe believes that she was only charged as a result of her unyielding determination to see that her assault would not go unpunished.”
She says that because of District Attorney Northcott’s handling of the case she tried to have him removed, but Northcott himself denied the request, and the subsequent motion to have him disqualified was also denied.
In July of 2016 the case against Ms. Lowe was dismissed. She then filed suit for Malicious Prosecution and violations of her 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights, but the the case was dismissed “without prejudice”.
Ms. Lowe contends that:
“District Attorney Craig Northcott has acted in violation of the Rules of Professional Responsibility and abused his position by: a) pursuing charges against her that were not supported by the evidence, b) pursuing charges against her despite that pursuit furthering an appearance of impropriety, c) misrepresentation in a legal tribunal to diminish the appearance of the impropriety.
As a result of these violations, Ms. Lowe reasons that DA Northcott has displayed a wanton indifference to his legal obligations as a prosecutor… a systemic abuse of discretion that is prejudicial to the administration of justice… she has been a victim of a miscarriage of justice perpetrated by a Prosecutor who has disregarded his prosecutorial obligations for personal and political purposes by abusing the broad discretion empowered upon him as prosecutor. Ms. Lowe asks this Board to weigh the evidence presented and to sanction Mr. Northcott accordingly.”
Lowes says that when the brother of the Assistant Chief of the Manchester Police Department is afforded preferential treatment in a domestic assault investigation, there is a strong appearance of impropriety:
“A courtesy call to Adam Floied as a member of the Manchester Police Department is a privilege not afforded to ordinary members of the public. The lack of an arrest in the face of the evidence at the scene is a privilege not afforded to ordinary members of the public. DA Northcott’s own admission that he informed Asst. Chief Floied, “I’m going to handle your brother’s case, or something like that, I’m going to go deal with that,” indicates a familiarity that is not afforded to ordinary members of the public.”
She says Asst. Chief Floied and DA Northcott have “an active and public social media friendship” which bring into question his impartiality and gives “the appearance of impropriety”.
“DA Northcott has recently demonstrated that he is willing to use his prosecutorial discretion for personal and political purposes. In a videotaped speaking engagement in 2018, DA Northcott made a proclamation at a gathering of religious leaders to explicitly announce that he would use his prosecutorial discretion for the sole political purpose of not prosecuting those who violate the law on Christian grounds. He stated, “So, to deal with that, you elect a good Christian man as DA, and you’ll make sure at least they don’t get prosecuted criminally.”
At that same gathering, DA Northcott revealed his reluctance to prosecute for domestic assault by stating, “There’s a subcategory of assault called domestic assault, But a domestic assault carries more punishment: You forever lose the right to own a gun under federal and state law, you have restrictions on your movement that you otherwise wouldn’t have under what we call ‘simple assault’ and there are other enhanced punishments.” The last statement indicates DA Northcott understands the ramifications of a domestic assault conviction and displays his hesitancy in applying it.”
Lowe contends these comments confirm DA Northcott abuses his position of power for his own political and personal benefit:
“DA Northcott has continued to make statements, without apology, about not applying the law or recognizing Constitutional protections to homosexuals or non-Christians. Ms. Lowe offers that in her case, it is not the promise to deny her full protection of the law, but it is the actual denial of the protections of the law. Ms. Lowe argues that this is calculated and intentional prosecutorial misconduct…
Ms. Lowe asks this Board to consider this complaint against the conduct of DA Northcott and to decide accordingly.
You can read the ethics complaint HERE, and the police reports HERE and HERE.
Speaker Casada’s Chief of staff Cade Cothren has just joined twitter, and has responded to us on Twitter saying he welcomes an independent investigation into the possibly falsified emails he’s suspected of sending to Nashville D.A. Glenn Funk to get civil rights activist Justin Jones thrown in jail.
Like you, friend, I’m for it.
— Cade Cothren (@CadeCothren) July 30, 2019
As you know by now, speaker Glen Casada is stepping down among a whirlwind of scandals, and will soon be replaced by Cameron Sexton in a special session August 23rd.
Aside from the lying, racism, sexism, cocaine-snorting, misuse of campaign funds, the list goes on… the one thing that has stood out as potentially the ugliest of all was the possibility Speaker Casada’s office had falsified the date on an email they received from civil rights activist Justin Jones in an attempt to revoke the terms of his bail and have him thrown in jail.
This came on the heels of an incident where Jones threw an iced tea cup at the speaker in frustration after Casada’s aide Cade Cothren had lied and said Jones was getting his email wrong when requesting a meeting (he wasn’t).
Casada’s office was asked about the discrepancies in the email dates by Channel 5’s Phil Williams, and were silent at first, before then saying the confusion was the result of the emails being stuck in the SPAM folder at the legislature – odd considering even the font seems to have change in the screen shot presented to the District Attorney.
Nashville D.A. Glenn Funk recused himself from the case since he was the recipient of the email, which is when Coffee County D.A. Craig Northcott entered the picture. We have since revealed that Northcott is an open Islamophobe and Homophobe who refuses to recognize the Supreme court’s authority and won’t treat LGBT people equally under the law.
Jones and his attorneys have tried to get Northcott removed from the case because of his clear disdain for the constitution, but so far that hasn’t happened.
In the meantime Northcott has used his prosecutorial discretion to not take the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation up on the offer to perform an independent investigation into the possibly falsified emails, instead taking the IT department at the legislature’s word for it – a group that serves at the behest of Speaker Casada.
If indeed the issue was something as simple as an email being stuck in a SPAM folder, why not call for an independent investigation? Why not clear the names of Casada and Cothren and let Tennesseans know that those two may be liars and sexist and crude and in Cothren’s case (at least) deeply racist, but they may not have actually tried to used their power to get Jones thrown in jail?
This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Knowing what really happened to those emails from an impartial source would be a step toward healing for Tennessee, and judging by his tweets Cothren himself seems to agree, at least on the surface.
He has just joined Twitter and has taken time out from answering months-old mentions of himself with Taylor Swift memes…
Oh hey look, Speaker @GlenCasada’s N-Word-using Coke-snorting aide Cade is now on twitter searching for his name and responding to tweets from months ago with hilarious memes.
This must be all that “personal growth” he told us about! pic.twitter.com/nb3mApbPA4
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) July 30, 2019
….to say that he is “FOR” an independent investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
So what’s the hold up?
If you believe Northcott should take Cothren up on that offer, holler at him HERE: 931-723-5057
Jones’ next hearing is August 15th at 9AM. Watch our new VIDEO from the last hearing:
Video from the hearing of Justin Jones & Jeneisha Harris last week, presided over by openly bigoted D.A. Northcott, who says Muslims are “evil” and refuses to recognize the supreme court’s marriage equality ruling and treat LGBT people equally under the law (both stories broken by the Holler).
He also refuses to bring in the TBI to investigate Speaker Casada possibly framing Jones, even though they have offered (see below).300 Tennessee attorneys just filed a motion to have Northcott’s law license taken away.
The next hearing is August 15th at 9AM in Courtroom 4D.
Here @TBInvestigation says they’ve offered to investigate the emails @GlenCasada’s office used to almost get @brotherjones_ locked up, but openly bigoted DA Northcott has not taken them up on it.
Outrageous. An independent investigation is necessary.https://t.co/gIId68r9RF pic.twitter.com/XBdQjk33yh
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) July 29, 2019
Yesterday we posted an article about a Facebook conversation between the Special Prosecutor now in charge of the Speaker Casada-Justin Jones investigation, Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott, and Daniel Berry, chair of the Coffee County Young Republicans. The conversation was about Muslims, and Islam.
Northcott repeatedly used the word “evil” when referring to Muslims and their belief system.
It has also come to our attention that Northcott believes protesting NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem was “an attack on Christianity”.
Justin Jones, the subject of the investigation Northcott is now in charge of, is not a Muslim, but he is a civil rights activist who fights for the rights of minorities. Northcott’s Islamophobia and attitude towards players protesting for civil rights has led many to wonder if Northcott is the right person to be in charge of the investigation, and if all citizens in Coffee County can expect to be treated fairly by him.
The American Muslim Advisory Council does not think so.
We spoke with Northcott yesterday morning, before our article posted. Below is our conversation in its entirety.
HOLLER: We’re going to be running a story about a conversation you had on Facebook with Daniel Berry about your views about Islam and Muslims, and we just wanted to give you a chance to explain where you’re coming from with that?
NORTHCOTT: I’m coming from that as a Christian there’s only one true God, and that is the God of the Bible.
HOLLER: And if there are Muslims in your community, do you think they should be concerned about their ability to get fair treatment from you?
NORTHCOTT: I don’t see any reason why they would be. The laws protect everyone equally. I judge each situation based upon the facts and circumstances of each situation and everyone gets equal treatment.
HOLLER: But you’re calling them “evil” in these messages.
NORTHCOTT: I don’t have it in front of me. Their ideology is evil. If they hold to that ideology that is taught in their holy scriptures, I think I made it clear the ideology is the problem, and you assess each individual as you find them. But the ideology is evil.
HOLLER: But your words were actually that it wasn’t just violent extremists that are evil, what you said was “They’re evil because they profess a commitment to an evil belief system. They’re no less evil because they don’t act on their belief system if they refuse to disavow that system” – So it sounds like what you’re saying is they’re evil if they don’t disavow Islam.
NORTHCOTT: Listen, I don’t know how else to say it. You’re going to say what you want to say. I’m a Christian. I believe in Christian values, and there’s only one true God. And any belief system that purports hate – killing anyone who does not comply with that belief system – is evil. I don’t know how else to say it… If you promote that you kill anyone who doesn’t believe what you believe that is evil. If that is what you truly believe you believe in an evil system. And that’s what the Muslim, Islam ideology is, and that is evil. If you don’t profess that, great. If you disavow that, great. But that is what is taught in Islam.
HOLLER: The discrepancy seems to be that – what Daniel was saying is that there are people who are violent and that are Muslims, and that that is evil, but that there are also peaceful Muslims who don’t ascribe to that, but you seemed to keep saying that if you believe in Islam, if you’re a Muslim, that because there are sects of Islam that believe in violence that that makes them a party to it.
NORTHCOTT: Let me say this again – let’s take it out of the context of Islam. Let’s put it in the context of white supremacy. If you believe in white supremacy, and you promote and avow that that is your belief system, that you hate someone who is not white, that is evil. You are tying yourself to an evil system. The ideology is evil. Whether you act on that or not, you still believe in an evil system.
HOLLER: But the equivalency that you’re making at the root of that is that believing in Islam, being Muslim, and being a white supremacist, are on the same level.
NORTHCOTT: I did not equate them. I said let’s take it out of that context. I in no way equated them.
HOLLER: But the point is that you are equating them, because you’re saying…
NORTCOTT: I am not equating them! Let me be very clear. I am not equating them. So don’t put those words in my mouth. I am not equating them.
HOLLER: Sir, your words were…
NORTHCOTT: Listen, if you’re going to try to misconstrue stuff I’m just going to stop talking to you.
HOLLER: I’m not misconstruing anything, I’m replying to your words. Your words were “It is no different than being part of the KKK, aryan nation…”
NORTHCOTT: I did not say that!
HOLLER: You wrote it.
NORTHCOTT: No.
HOLLER: You did.
NORTHCOTT: You can misconstrue it all you want. If you want to report fairly, report fairly. If you don’t, I’m not going to talk to you anymore. That’s just the bottom line.
HOLLER: I’m reading the words that you wrote.
NORTHCOTT: I don’t even have it in front of me! There’s a whole context. There’s a whole string of stuff. And I am telling you what I am expressing. If you don’t want to accept that that’s fine, and I will just stop talking to you.
HOLLER: I very much want to get to the bottom of it. I’m trying to give you a chance to explain it.
NORTHCOTT: I just did.
HOLLER: Ok. If you’re someone who’s Muslim looking at these words here – they are painting all of Islam with that brush.
NORTHCOTT: All of Islam is to be painted with that brush. Each individual is to be treated separately. I say that clearly in there. I don’t know how else to say it.
HOLLER: I think Muslims would take exception to the first part.
NORTHCOTT: I can’t help that.
HOLLER: Do you believe this makes it difficult for you to do your job?
NORTHCOTT: No. It in no way affects how I judge each situation. Why would it?
HOLLER: Because if you start out with the premise that people who believe in a certain religion are evil and have an evil ideology, it seems like that would make it difficult to judge fairly.
NORTHCOTT: Why?
HOLLER: Because it seems like you would not be giving them the benefit of any doubt.
NORTHCOTT: Why?
HOLLER: Because you started out with the premise that they’re evil.
NORTHCOTT: I started out with the premise that the KKK is evil, can I not be fair to them either? There’s a lot of evil in this world. I start out with the premise that if you shoot someone in the head you’ve done an evil thing, can I not be fair to them?
HOLLER: Again, you just went from – we were talking about Muslims – to the KKK. You just made that jump yourself, you’re doing it yourself. I didn’t make you do that.
NORTHCOTT: You pick what you think’s evil. I’m trying to pick something that is clearly evil. You pick what you think is evil. What’s evil?
HOLLER: I agree that the Klan is evil.
NORTHCOTT: Ok! That’s why I picked it.
HOLLER: But I don’t agree that all of Islam is evil. Do you see what I’m saying?
NORTHCOTT: The ideology is evil. If you believe every bit of Islam, you are assigning yourself to an evil ideology. It’s just a fact. If you are believing in an ideology that promotes killing someone who doesn’t believe what you believe, that is evil. Do you agree with that?
HOLLER: Yes.
NORTHCOTT: Ok, there you go.
HOLLER: But what I think a lot of people would have a problem with is… there are things in the Bible that are violent also, are there not?
NORTHCOTT: There’s plenty of stuff in Bible that’s violent. But it doesn’t promote hate. It doesn’t say “kill those who don’t believe you, kill those who reject Christ” – it does not promote that in any way.
HOLLER: I understand, but I think the issue is that if you are saying that Muslims in general believe…
NORTHCOTT: I did not say that.
HOLLER: You said they believe in an evil ideology.
NORTHCOTT: Yes. That ideology is evil because it promotes hate. What does this have to do with anything of Justin Jones, is he a Muslim?
HOLLER: No, he’s not a Muslim.
NORTHCOTT: Well then what does this have to do with what you’re calling me about?
HOLLER: Because he fights for the rights of minorities, and he’s a civil rights activist, and I think it’s worth people understanding that the man who is now in charge of this investigation harbors these beliefs.
NORTHCOTT: Don’t misconstrue what I have to say.
HOLLER: I’m not misconstruing anything. These are your words. This is why I’m calling you.
NORTHCOTT: Let me be very clear – this is the last thing I’m going to say on this. There is a difference between ideology and the individual. I will judge each individual, and each circumstances as I find them. They’re two separate things.
HOLLER: Ok, and to clarify – the point you made about that “there are no constitutional rights, there are God-given rights protected by the constitution, and if you don’t believe in the one true God there’s nothing to protect. No one other than God has given us any rights” – is that something you want to elaborate on a little bit?
NORTHCOTT: You go to our founding documents and it makes it very clear that what is being protected by our Constitution is what God has provided to us – the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to the pursuit of happiness – and those are delineated in our founding documents. And they are specific in our founding documents that they come from our creator. And our Government is established to protect those rights for everyone.
HOLLER: To see the sentence “there are no constitutional rights” I think is shocking to some people who may not have the same outlook on that as you.
NORTHCOTT: Rights are not established by government, the rights are protected by government. That is the distinction I was making. Rights are created by God. They are God-given rights. And they are protected by the constitution.
In recent Facebook comments, Coffee County D.A. Craig Northcott, the man now overseeing the Glen Casada-Justin Jones case, expressed intensely Islamophobic views, and also added that “there are no constitutional rights” only “God-given rights protected by the constitution”, adding: “If you don’t believe in the one true God, there is nothing to protect” because “no one other than God has given us any rights.”
In February, civil rights activist Justin Jones was charged with assault and banned from the capitol for throwing a cup of iced tea into the elevator in which Speaker Casada was riding. Casada had been dodging a meeting with Jones to discuss the removal of the bust of the KKK’s first Grand Wizard from the state capitol.
In the wake of the incident, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk issued a “no-contact order” to Jones, which prohibited him from contacting Casada. Days later, Jones received a revocation of his bond because of an email he had supposedly sent to Speaker Casada AFTER the no-contact order, on March 1, according to an email printout sent by Casada’s office to the D.A.
But Jones had done no such thing. We now know the email in question was actually sent BEFORE the no-contact order.
Was it a “computer glitch”? An I.T. issue, as the legislature’s I.T. department has said?
Or was it Speaker Casada’s office – who has been exposed as using deeply racist language in text messages – doctoring evidence to have Jones thrown in jail?
These are questions that need answering. It will not, however, be District Attorney Funk who answers them.
Funk has recused himself from handling the case, according to a spokesman with his office, because his office was the recipient of the email whose date of receipt has come into question, and therefore Funk believes his office’s role as a potential witness puts him in conflict.
Instead, Funk referred the case to the District Attorneys General Conference, an umbrella group that oversees all the judicial districts in the state of Tennessee, which has since assigned the case to the Coffee County District Attorney’s office.
Why Coffee County? According to someone at the District Attorneys General Conference office, that process involves ruling out districts that are too close or too far away, checking availability, and then choosing from the districts that remain.
Coffee County’s District Attorney is Craig Northcott.
Craig Northcott has made it very clear in a Facebook conversation with the chair of the Coffee County Young Republicans that he believes the ideology of Muslims to be “evil”.
Extended excerpts from the conversation between District Attorney Craig Northcott and Daniel Berry, chair of the Young Republicans, follow below, but here are a few direct quotes from Northcott:
“Their (Muslims) belief system is evil, violent, and against God’s Truth.”
“They are evil because they profess a commitment to an evil belief system… They are no less evil because they don’t act on their belief system if they refuse to disavow that system.”
“It is no different than being part of the KKK, Aryan Nation, etc. if you support those viewpoints, you are rightly and readily condemned in our society. However, it is now politically incorrect to take a stand against Islam that has the same core of hate.”
“standing firm in God’s Truth which directly opposed to Islam will always be at the center of my position.”
“to deny their religion teaches hate is a denial of the truth”
“There are no constitutional rights. There are God given rights protected by the constitution. If you don’t believe in the one true God, there is nothing to protect. No one other than God has given us any rights.”
To be clear, Justin Jones is not a Muslim. He is a Christian who attends Vanderbilt Divinity School.
Still, Northcott’s Islamophobic beliefs would seem to be a problem not only for his involvement in the Justin Jones case – since Jones is a civil rights advocate who fights for the rights of people of color, and minorities in general – but also for his ability to perform his duties as District Attorney in general.
What follows are excerpts from Northcott’s conversation on Facebook with Berry.
The original post is Berry’s, asking if it’s ever “acceptable” to stereotype an entire group:
After a lengthy back and forth between Berry and other Facebook users about whether or not stereotyping Muslims is OK – during which Berry takes the position that it is not – someone then chimes in with an image from www.TheReligionOfPeace.com which makes the claim that “nearly 35,000 deadly terror attacks have been carried out by Islamic Terrorists since 9/11”:
Berry responds that even if that were true, that would mean in infinitesimally small % of Muslims had committed those atrocities: “So let’s damn 1.8 Billion people because of the actions of (a few). That seems pretty logical to me.”
That’s when District Attorney Northcott jumps in.
Right off the bat Northcott says “Their belief system is evil, violent, and against God’s Truth… they are taught to commit many atrocities in the name of their ‘God’ including pedophilia, beating of their wives, female genital mutilation, and ‘honor’ killings… they are evil because they profess a commitment to an evil belief system.”
As for who the “They” are, Northcott indicates he doesn’t just mean those who kill, but Muslims in general: “They are no less evil because they don’t act on their belief system if they refuse to disavow that system. Romans 1:32 comes to mind in which we are taught that you are just as guilty before God if you give approval to those who engage in evil acts. It is no different than being part of the KKK, Aryan Nation, etc. if you support those viewpoints, you are rightly and readily condemned in our society. However, it is now politically incorrect to take a stand against Islam that has the same core of hate. I do not hate the individual but I will not be cowered into pretending that their belief system is legitimate or one of peace.”
Northcott goes on to point to “what is happening in Europe” as evidence.
Berry responds by pointing out that not all Muslims are the same, just as not all Christians are the same, and that the barbaric “customs” Northcott mentioned are only carried out by a few and not part of the religion millions upon millions of Muslims follow. He also addresses many other “misconceptions” in Northcott’s post.
Berry concedes there are dangerous sects of Islam, but that the vast majority are peaceful people. He then suggests they continue the conversation in person, and says anti-Islam ideas Northcott is describing will not be the position of the Young Republicans of Coffee County, because he and other members believe that “close-minded mentality” and “negativity” is why people won’t join.
Northcott does not agree: “Just because some claim to not hold to some of it doesn’t change the fact that it is the core of Islam. Just because some actual or professed Christians disavow God’s Truth on marriage doesn’t make it any less part of Christianity. Falling for political correctness or an individual’s take on Islam is dangerous.”
Berry then tries to impart to Northcott that at the very least vilifying Muslims shouldn’t be at the forefront of what Republicans do, because it doesn’t help the people of Coffee County and takes away from “actual issues” – but Northcott doesn’t go with him on with that.
Northcott: “If the Republican Party doesn’t stand for anything, it has no reason to exist. The whole purpose is so citizens can know what the core values of a candidate are if they run as a Republican. If that makes me closed minded, so be it. Frankly, I find that our community and country are crying out for people with principles and the courage to stand up for them.”
Berry then says he trusts Northcott and law enforcement to protect from Islamic extremism or hate crimes, to which Northcott responds he “will work for our community, but standing firm in God’s Truth which directly opposed to Islam will always be at the center of my position.”
Islamophobia isn’t just something he dabbles in, it’s “the center.”
Berry then goes on to explain that he’s not defending those who are violent or extreme, and again reiterates that not all Muslims are. He says he believes there are many misconceptions he’s trying to counter, and that he doesn’t believe “the best way to go about moving people away from Islam (if that is the goal) is to go around and label everyone as a terrorist threat. That pushes people away and isolates them further which in turn has the opposite of the intended effect.”
Northcott answers by telling Berry he finds it “extremely offensive that you chose Easter weekend to be an apologist for Islam,” and says the focus should be on Christ instead and the “historical facts” of Christ’s return, and that whoever believes them “is saved and will spend all eternity in Heaven with God.”
Berry asks D.A. Northcott “not to label him as an apologist simply because you disagree with or don’t understand my stance, to which Northcott decides to summarize it all and then he’s “moving on”.
To summarize, Northcott turns to bullet points.
#1 is that Berry saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God is “blasphemy”.
#2 is that he’s troubled Berry hasn’t cited any scripture, only the Koran.
But #3 is the kicker…
3) There are no constitutional rights. There are God given rights protected by the constitution. If you don’t believe in the one true God, there is nothing to protect. No one other than God has given us any rights.
Quite a statement from a District Attorney.
In bullet point #4 Northcott says if being D.A. means he has to stay silent on this, he doesn’t want his job: “I will not be silenced by implications that I am not and can not do my job correctly if I don’t agree with you. If I have to remain silent and not give a defense of the Gospel, I don’t want my job.”
He then says he’s “clearly” not required to stay silent because he has freedom of speech.
In #5 Northcott says “to deny their religion teaches hate is a denial of the truth” – then goes on to tell Berry where to find *better* info about Islam.
Did #3 concern you? It concerned Berry too.
Berry says, “I would argue #3 disqualified you from being D.A.”
Berry says Northcott represents “EVERY SINGLE PERSON” as an elected official regardless of their beliefs, “Not just Christians,” and says #3 concerns him greatly because he swore an oath to uphold the Constitution.
Northcott then elaborates on #3, adding that “Rights come from God”, and therefore “if there is no God there is nothing to protect”.
Berry says one of those rights is the freedom of religion and asks if Northcott defends that right regardless of which religion it is. Northcott responds by citing the Declaration of Independence and says the Founding Fathers asserted our “self-evident” rights come from God, and among them is the freedom of religion – even if it means not worshipping Him: “So, yes, freedom of religion comes from God even when that freedom results in rejecting him.”
Northcott says he does defend the right to freedom of religion, as long as nobody gets hurt, but again reminds Berry he thinks Islam = Hate: “No one including myself or the government can stop the mental attitude of hate.”
He then goes on to say Berry saying bullet point #3 disqualified him from office was said “without factual basis” and therefore “ends up just harming your (Berry’s) credibility.
Berry seems relieved Northcott does defend Freedom of Religion, and suggests Northcott’s bullet point #3 where he says “there are no Constitutional rights” was “easily misinterpreted” by anyone reading it.
Berry apologizes to Northcott, and elaborates on his views.
Northcott accepts his apology, and offers to come by and teach on the subject of the role of Christians in government (which does not seem to subscribe to the separation of church and state).
In summation, the man now in charge of Justin Jones case thinks Islam is”evil” and on par with the KKK, and that there’s no such thing as constitutional rights, only rights the one true God gave us that the constitution upholds.
Northcott has also “liked” the page of Act! For Coffee County, the Coffee County chapter of Act for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group.
When contacted for comment by the Holler, Northcott responded:
“The laws protect everyone equally. I judge every situation based up on the facts and circumstances… you assess each individual as you find them, but the ideology is evil.”
While Berry told us:
“I was a little alarmed in the statement he made regarding that ‘all rights come from the one true God.’ Coming from a prosecutor, that’s a little alarming. I believe religion is separate from the law. When you become an elected official it’s ok to hang onto those beliefs but you have to separate those on some level.”
As for Northcott’s beliefs about Muslims, Berry says:
“I think he’s absolutely wrong in his beliefs. I understand his fear, but when I read those comments as a non-Muslim, they’re extremely offensive to me. If I were a Muslim, especially coming from a public official, I’d find that to be extremely offensive and not becoming of somebody in that position.”
Does Berry believe Justin Jones should be concerned about Northcott’s ability to oversee a case like this?
“I would be extremely concerned if I was an activist (like Jones) fighting for those rights and that was the person on my case, having read those comment. I would question his ability to be fair.”
If after reading all of this you agree that Justin Jones – and people of color, and Muslims in general – may have a hard time getting justice from a man who holds these beliefs, feel free to holler at District Attorney Northcott HERE.
