Two thousand and twenty-three was a pivotal year for me as a journalist, writer, and political commentator. For years, I had been preaching about the importance of focusing on local politics instead of hyper-focusing on the goings on in Washington, D.C.
But in 2023, I set out to focus a substantial chunk of my platform on stories highlighting how local and state governments can be the most vicious violators of our rights. Throughout this journey, I have traveled across the country and met several individuals and families who have been wronged by their local and state politicians and I learned quite a bit.
In San Antonio, Texas, I covered the story of Vince Cantu, a bar owner who was being threatened with eminent domain by the city and state. In this case, I saw how the state colluded with the city to steal this man’s property to make room for an addition to the Alamo.
This was a story of how eminent domain is increasingly used to benefit commercial interests instead of respecting people’s property rights.
The issue began about six years ago when the city first approached Cantu about buying his bar. “I got an offer from [former Texas Land Commissioner] George P. Bush in 2016, and it was a real estate contract with all the earnest money stuff in it,” he told RedState.
Cantu continued:
“So I asked an attorney about it, and they said, ‘Do you want to sell your property?’ I said, ‘Well, no, and especially not for that amount.’ So I just ignored it. And then, I guess two weeks later, the title company called me and said, ‘Hey, we’re scheduled for a closing. Are you coming in?’ And I’m like, ‘Hold on a minute. What?’ I had no idea. I didn’t know what eminent domain was. And I thought, ‘Wow, I better get a whole other attorney. It looks like I’m getting eminent domained.’ This could be the first step towards that, as far as I knew.”
To be clear, Cantu was open to selling his bar to the government but was unwilling to accept the GLO’s initial offer, which was only a little less than $1 million. He explained that the next attorney he worked with “was somebody that the government had worked with before” and that this person “went through this whole ruse about” scaring Cantu into agreeing to the government’s offer.
The ongoing struggle between Cantu and the state culminated in a protest at which I had the pleasure of speaking out against the city’s underhanded tactics.
My full speech at the eminent domain protest in San Antonio.
— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) March 17, 2023
I was a little pissed.
Alright very pissed.
Let me know what you think! pic.twitter.com/LUFuEztDSg
Not long after, another case took me to Hot Springs County, Arkansas, where I met Jose Gudino-Barragan, who had been mistreated by local law enforcement who came onto his property and stole his dogs and chickens, falsely accusing him of cockfighting and dog fighting despite having absolutely no evidence indicating he was engaged in either of these activities.
The authorities threatened to arrest him for a crime he clearly did not commit. After stealing his animals, law enforcement gave them to a local “animal rescue,” which did not waste time in using the dogs to raise funds on Facebook. Unfortunately, Jose was not able to receive justice and is still without his animals.
Later in the year, I heard about a case in Gastonia, North Carolina, in which the city was hassling a pastor named Moses Colbert for housing, clothing, and feeding the homeless in his church. What struck me about this case was the utter callousness shown by local officials. They constantly worked to stop him from doing what the Bible says when it comes to caring for the needy.
These government officials would have rather seen the homeless languishing and dying on the streets in the cold of winter rather than allow Pastor Moses to take care of them. Indeed, this actually happened.
The situation began around the conclusion of 2019, just before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colbert noted that things “got really intense” at this time and he decided he needed “to really step up and try to do some things to help preserve human life.”
His church opened a shelter in Gastonia in late 2019 called “Uptown Shelter.” He heard from another pastor how dire the situation had become for people in the community. This is when he decided to expand his efforts to feed, clothe, and house the homeless.
Colbert said “….it took a while for the [shelter to] catch on, but it did work and everything. Then after we got everything going good…I believe we were keeping about 60 in the brment of the church in the fellowship hall.”
The problems arose when an older homeless man became ill, and they had to call emergency services to help. “The fire marshal came in and took pictures saying, ‘you don’t have a proper sprinkler system and such.’”
Colbert explained that the building was 100 years old, which is why it did not have a sprinkler system. The marshal told him he would not be allowed to keep homeless people in there, even after the pastor noted that “it’s freezing outside, and these people are going to freeze to death.”
In the same city, I also covered the story of Joshua Rohrer, a homeless veteran who was roughed up by police officers for allegedly panhandling. The reality is that he was not asking anyone for money, but people would approach him and give him food and cash. The bodycam footage shows the officers throwing him to the ground even though he did not commit a crime. The officers went so far as to use a taser on his service dog, who later died.
The last story I covered in 2023 was the most heartbreaking so far. I learned about the plight of Matt and Takki Hernandez, a family ripped apart by Georgia’s bureaucracy after the couple was falsely accused of abusing their three-month-old daughter Emma, who was placed into foster care with her four-year-old sister Arya.
Matt and his wife have been forcibly separated since June due to the condition of Takki’s bail after she was arrested. They have not been allowed to contact one another. Takki was only able to start seeing her daughters again a few weeks ago, but visitation for both parents is limited. As it stands today, the parents are locked in a battle with the state to be reunited with their children, who have suffered the most from this ordeal.
Each of these stories serves as a powerful reminder of why none of us should ignore local politics. Yes, focusing on the swamp in D.C. is important, but I guarantee that you already have a swamp and a Deep State right in your backyard. The government that is closest to you is the one that can hurt you the most.
These stories, along with the others I have covered, have further impressed upon me the urgency of fixing our local communities and ensuring we are electing people who actually value liberty. I have seen how valuable a liberty-loving official can be when it comes to pushing back against the overreach of the federal government -- but I have also seen what happens when the wrong people are allowed to wield power locally.
In 2024, I am going to be focusing even more on local issues and bringing to light the corruption that prevails when good people are not paying attention. My objective is to convince as many people as possible to pay as much attention to their mayors as they do to the White House. Next, I want people to activate in their communities and work to affect change in their environment. With the federal government having become irredeemably corrupt, I believe focusing locally is the only way we can have a chance at liberty in America.