NAACP demands resignation of Horry Treasurer who went to DC to support Trump

Local leaders of the NAACP on Friday called on Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones to resign from her elected position as a consequence of traveling to Washington D.C. last week to attend political rallies that preceded a deadly insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

Georgetown County NAACP President Marvin Neal, South Carolina Democratic Party official Cedric Blain-Spain and other Black leaders said Jones being in D.C. was inappropriate and demonstrated that she believed the results of the 2020 Presidential election should be overturned—and for that she should resign.

“Angie Jones must go,” Neal said during a news conference in Conway that was live-streamed on Facebook. “She should be removed immediately,” Neal said. “Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but right now.”

Following speeches by his children and allies last Wednesday, President Donald Trump again challenged the results of the 2020 election and told his supporters to “walk down to the Capitol” where Representatives and Senators were voting to certify the election results. A crowd of people then rallied outside the Capitol before breaking through police barricades and storming inside, some with the intent to harm or kill lawmakers, federal law enforcement officials have since said. In the end, five people, including a police officer, died as a result of the mob attack that some have called an insurrection or attempted coup.

Two days after the attack, Jones told The Sun News that she didn’t march on the Capitol building with the crowds of other Trump supporters but instead attended several speeches by other political figures before returning to her Arlington, Virginia, hotel room. She saw Donald Trump Jr. and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speak before being suggested to leave the crowd by her friend and local conservative radio host Chad Caton.

On Friday, Jones, said the demands of the NAACP are “laughable” and she had no intentions on resigning.

Other local GOP figures were also in D.C. last Friday, including Gerri McDaniel, the South Carolina Republican Party’s state executive committee member for Horry County and Shannon Grady, the incoming president of the Horry County GOP Women’s Caucus. Gene Ho, who has said he’s running for Mayor of Myrtle Beach, was also in Washington D.C. last week for pro-Trump rallies.

Ire also aimed at Rep. Tom Rice

Neal also said Rep. Tom Rice, who supported challenging election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona before voting to impeach Trump this week, along with Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott should be “ashamed” due to their support of Trump and his assertion that the November election was unfair.

“Shame on Angie Jones, shame on Tom Rice, shame on Lindsey Graham, shame on Tim Scott. The hood is off now,” he said, referring to the white hoods historically worn by members of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan.

In response, Jones said Friday afternoon that she didn’t watch the press conference and said she found the calls for her resignation “laughable.”

“It’s disgusting, it’s stupid, it’s laughable. I just got a ton more votes,” she said, referencing supportive messages she’s received from voters in the past week. “It is what it is. I’m not going to resign. I’m not going to apologize.”

At the press conference, Blain-Spain, the state executive committeeman for Horry County, said Jones traveling to D.C. last week, even though she didn’t participate in the mob, amounted to “seditious, terrorist behavior” and that she was “not free from the consequences of your choices.”

Blain-Spain also said it was “sad when racism threatens our democracy,” meaning that the mob was seeking to overturn the results of the election, which included the election of Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent on a major party’s presidential ticket. She was born to a Jamican father and an Indian mother. Last week’s mob also included people with known ties to white supremacy, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Others there were photographed wearing clothing with racist or anti-Semitic messages on them.

‘They look like bullies,’ Jones says

Blain-Spain also posed a question to Jones during his speech:

“Let me just ask this question to Angie Jones and all the others: How would Horry County feel if that coup came to your office?” he said. “How would you feel if they came to Horry County if they didn’t like you? You wouldn’t be so glad to say you support it.”

Jones rejected the claim that last week’s riot at the Capitol was a result of racism and said Blain-Spain, Neal and others who spoke were targeting her because she’s a woman.

“This has nothing to do with race, period. It’s gotten to the point where they look like bullies,” Jones said. “They can think they can bully me as a female but it ain’t going to happen so they might as well just stop. Or keep going, it doesn’t matter. I’m not losing any sleep.”

During his speech, Neal also called on County Councilman Orton Bellamy, the only Black member of the council, to lead an effort on council to censure Jones.

“Mr. Bellamy, that’s a strong message for you, it’s time for you to show up,” Neal said. “To the people of Horry County, get these people out of your office.”

Bellamy declined to comment on Neal’s demands saying he hadn’t seen the press conference and wants to hear the comments for himself first. Bellamy, and all other members of County Council, spent Friday in a daylong budget retreat. He did say, however, that he supports Jones’ right to travel to D.C. to attend the rallies, and that everyone who broke into the Capitol should be prosecuted by federal authorities. He also noted that he’s an active member of the Conway branch of the NAACP.

“(Jones) was within her rights to go to D.C. and be a part of the demonstrations,” he said. “As far as the individuals...At that point when you breached the barriers, you’re terrorists, you’re a mob, you’re a gang. They should be prosecuted by the federal authorities to the fullest extent of the law.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 4:28 PM.