2 days ago
Hawkins Co. resident hosts meeting about NewEarth ‘micronation'
HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) —A resident of Hawkins County hosted a community meeting Saturday about 60 acres of land purchased in Stanley Valley for a 'micronation.'
According to the coalition that acquired the land, NewEarth, the NewEarth Micronation Tennessee values 'sovereignty' and 'holistic living.' It will be governed by 'freedom, self-sufficiency, and respect for nature.'
Matthew Williams, a resident of Hawkins County, believes these values are misleading. After conducting extensive research on the coalition, he organized the meeting and shared his findings with the attendees.
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'I update a lot on Facebook with the facts on the Earth Nation, but there are a lot of individuals who don't have Internet or choose not to have social media,' he said. 'So we want to give them a chance to have their voice heard and get to talk to some of the government officials and to, of course, see some of the new information that has developed since the commissioners meeting.'
Hawkins County Mayor Mark DeWitte and Commissioner Syble Trent were at the meeting, which was an open invitation to all who wanted to learn more about NewEarth.
Trent said that she wants everyone to be informed, not just the residents of Hawkins County.
'We want people from other counties to come in and hear about this. Also, because we don't know how it's going to affect us, and it could eventually affect the whole state,' Trent said. 'And knowledge is good. Knowledge is very important. We don't want to stick our heads in the sand and say, 'Oh well, it's okay.''
The NewEarth Micronation Tennessee site director was present at the meeting to answer questions from the community.
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