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Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC congressman hit another man with a clipboard at conference, Rotarian says
Rep. Chuck Edwards said he was the victim of a drunken man's belligerence on Saturday night, but a Rotarian who helped organize the event where Edwards spoke said the congressman was the aggressor — striking a man in anger with a clipboard after finishing his speech. Guy Gooder says he heard, but didn't see, Edwards hit the man and couldn't tell where the blow landed. Edwards' body was between Gooder and the other man, blocking his view, Gooder said. Edwards' staff did not return a phone call Monday. Apart from saying no one was injured and no one was arrested, police have not provided an official version of events that night. What's not in dispute: Edwards was scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Saturday to Rotarians gathered in Asheville at the conference held by Rotary District 7670. Rotary clubs are intended not to be partisan or sectarian. So Guy Gooder, the district's community service project chair and a corporate sponsor of the event, said he had concerns as soon as he learned Edwards was a speaker, but he didn't expect what he witnessed Saturday night. Gooder, a graphic designer from Franklin, said Edwards was invited to speak about Helene relief and recovery, as Buncombe County Board of Commissioner Chairwoman Amanda Edwards — who is not related — had done the night before. He said she stayed on script. Edwards did not. Gooder said Edwards used his speech to defend President Donald Trump's administration, including on tariffs and cuts to federal agencies. Gooder said while Edwards said he might try to restore funding to the State Department to help the Rotarians' cause of polio eradication, he also spent his speech 'insulting' the federal agencies the Rotarians work with most closely. The Rotary put out a statement in February following the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the World Health Organization and to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development. Doing so complicated the club's mission to eradicate polio. 'He spent 30 minutes basically insulting the Rotarians' intelligence in his speech,' Gooder said. 'He insulted many of the programs that we partner with, agencies like the State Department, and the WHO, which is polio eradication, insulted those departments, talked about maybe we can get some funding back to the State Department for polio, so our efforts can continue.' Gooder, a critic of Trump who is registered as an unaffiliated voter, serves on the Franklin Tourism Development Authority board. Gooder stresses the importance of Rotarians to check their views on politics at the door when they walk into Rotarian events. When Edwards wrapped his speech, he had to walk down a center aisle between tables of Rotarians to get out the back door. 'If you do that for 30 minutes and you walk past somebody, they're probably going to insult you back,' Gooder said. And that's what happened. A man sitting at a table in the aisle addressed Edwards. 'The Rotarian basically said that was a load of B.S.,' Gooder said. 'Chuck stops and kind of bends over, kind of in-his-face type of stuff,' said Gooder, who said he was at the next table over, 'and then it continues from there.' Edwards, he said, 'hit the guy with his clipboard' while the man was still seated. Gooder said the two men left the room and continued arguing out of view of the Rotarians. Gooder identified the man, who told McClatchy he couldn't answer any questions but that he had just gotten off the phone with a police detective and that they're 'trying to come to a resolution.' McClatchy reached out to Edwards' office Saturday night. His spokeswoman Maria Kim said a statement was forthcoming. Midday Sunday, without a statement, but with confirmation from the Asheville Police Department that Edwards was present at a disturbance at the hotel where the Rotary conference took place, McClatchy published an article about police being called to the hotel. Edwards then immediately released a statement saying he 'refused to engage with an intoxicated man that was cursing.' 'He became more belligerent and later called the police,' Edwards' statement said. 'His behavior was embarrassing to the people at the event and was duly noted by the police. To my knowledge there was no further action taken by police.' Gooder defended the man, saying he was not belligerent. He said in all the years he's been with the Rotary he's never seen anyone be belligerent and that if a member was, such behavior would be shut down quickly. It's not tolerated. A message Sunday to ask about tips that Edwards was in fact the aggressor went unanswered. Seeking to verify those tips, McClatchy reached out by phone, text and email to organizers and people in attendance. McClatchy first reached out to Gooder on Sunday, who responded by email Monday morning agreeing to speak about what he witnessed. On Monday, after speaking to Gooder, McClatchy called Kim again and left a voicemail, but has not received any updates from Edwards' staff. The Asheville Police Department has not released any additional information. McClatchy has requested both the 911 call and the police report from the incident. The latter was not yet complete as of 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Rotarians were scheduled for a dinner break following Edwards' speech. Gooder said everyone could see the police cars that had arrived at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in downtown Asheville where the event was taking place and knew it had to do with what had just occurred. He said the two organizers of the conference went on stage and apologized. 'I was at least impressed by that,' Gooder said. 'I thought it was a terrible decision anyway, obviously, to roll the dice like that on a very partisan politician, but if the worst case scenario happens, at least you get up there and apologize.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Chuck Edwards Accused Of Hitting Man At Rotary Club Event
This article was co-published by TPM and The Assembly, which publishes deep reporting on power and place in North Carolina. A regional Rotary conference in Asheville on Saturday night appears to have ended with a confrontation between Western North Carolina's U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) and an unknown man, with witnesses attesting that the congressman struck the attendee. 'He got into an argument at one of the tables with another Rotarian and Chuck got upset and hit the guy with a binder and said 'love you man' as he walked out,' said a Rotarian, who requested anonymity so as not to jeopardize his relationship with the organization. 'The guy he hit called the police and claimed he was assaulted,' the emailer continued. McClatchy newspapers published a similar story on Monday evening, quoting Rotarian Guy Gooder, who said he heard the fracas, but didn't see it. The man exchanged words with Edwards after the congressman delivered his remarks, Gooder said. 'Chuck stops and kind of bends over, kind of in-his-face type of stuff,' Gooder told McClatchy, saying Edwards 'hit the guy with his clipboard' while the man was still seated. According to Gooder, the two men then exited the conference room. Neither Edwards' D.C. office nor his district office responded to our requests for comment as of Monday night. McClatchy reported on early accounts of the incident on Sunday, including a statement from Edwards claiming he had 'refused to engage with an intoxicated man that was cursing' after his speech. 'He became more belligerent and later called the police,' the statement continued. 'His behavior was embarrassing to people at the event and was duly noted by the police. To my knowledge, there was no further action taken by police.' Asheville Police Department PIO Rick Rice confirmed via text message on Saturday night that the department was investigating a disturbance, and that Edwards 'was present at the time.' Rice said he did not have the gender or age of the person who filed the complaint, and said he would have more information on Monday. He also directed this reporter to file a public records request for a police report. (As of Monday evening, that request had not been fulfilled.) On Monday morning, Rice responded to further inquiries via text that 'the investigation is ongoing. There are no further updates at this time.' Reports began to emerge over the weekend that some kind of confrontation had occurred at the Embassy Suites Hilton Downtown Asheville where the conference was taking place. But what actually happened and who was the aggressor has remained the subject of mystery and plenty of rumors. Rotary Clubs throughout Western North Carolina came together for a conference on the theme 'Peace in Action,' which included dedicating a peace pole in Pritchard Park. Any other regional Rotary District 7670 event may have been a ho-hum affair, of interest only to other Rotarians. But word spread quickly Saturday night that police had responded to an incident involving Edwards. In the absence of more information, rumors flew through the weekend and into Monday, with multiple versions of events reaching reporters. In a text message, Rotary District 7670's Governor Connie Molland said it was her understanding the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office decided 'there was not enough probable cause and that they were dropping the investigation … It was a pretty vague situation.' Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams' office did not respond to a late Monday request for comment. Molland continued: 'Our conference was entitled Peace in Motion relating to Rotary's extensive work in building peace and understanding throughout the world. We are committed to ensuring that every individual who participates in Rotary activities understands their obligation to maintain an environment that promotes safety, courtesy, dignity and respect for all.' Additional accounts of Saturday night's disturbance suggest an alternative to allegations of an assault-by-office-supply. It may have been a bump or shoulder check, possibly accidental. 'I just happened to be in the lobby as part of the incident played out,' wrote another tipster, who was not there for the Rotary event but was in the hotel lobby. 'I was exiting the lobby to the parking area, a man in a suit was walking briskly in the same direction calling out 'he assaulted me.'' 'He kept saying 'that's assault, I have five witnesses, you hit me, I'm calling the police' and a lady in yellow was following him begging him 'Please don't do this!'' The man in the suit eventually caught up with Edwards, the witness said, and continued saying that he'd been assaulted. 'They all started a relatively quiet discussion,' the witness wrote, providing a photograph of Edwards talking to several men and a woman in a yellow dress. The emailer described bystanders, including herself, as skeptical and confused. This person 'assumed that Chuck had not outright hit the man, as nobody else in the vicinity got involved and nobody else in the lobby came forward to say what they'd seen.' The lobby and bar were very full of conference attendees, but no one seemed to know what had happened. 'Someone said, 'He's a congressman, there's no way he just hauled off and slapped a man in public.' Chris Cooper, professor of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University, said he had heard rumors about a 'disturbance,' but none of them have been firsthand or particularly detailed. While 'wild rumors' abound in politics, Cooper noted the specific allegation of assault with a binder or clipboard 'seems to run counter to what we know about Chuck Edwards' and his buttoned-up demeanor. But Cooper also acknowledged political tensions are sky-high. The fact that there was a confrontation at a Rotary event, which is 'a relatively apolitical' organization, is worrisome, he explained. 'If the Rotary Club isn't a safe space for people to have friendly disagreements, then I don't know what is.'
