July 20, 2026/Media, Press

NEW: Michael Whatley Calls The Police On a SECOND Reporter At Public Campaign Event

For the second time in just over a week, DC insider Michael Whatley called the police on a local reporter at a campaign event – this time from the Asheville Citizen-Times, the largest paper in Western North Carolina. It was a public, non-ticketed event and even the town attorney said barring press would be a violation of town policy.

Just ten days earlier, Whatley’s campaign called the police on an Assembly reporter and barred multiple local outlets from a campaign event.

Cory Vaillancourt at the Asheville Citizen-Times:

Kyle Perrotti of the Smoky Mountain News:

Bryan Anderson at The Assembly:

 

Más información:

Asheville Citizen-Times: Haywood GOP officials bar Citizen Times reporter from Whatley event

Cory Vaillancourt | July 18th, 2026

  • A pattern of restricted press access surrounding Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s campaign has now reached Waynesville, where local GOP officials denied a Citizen Times reporter entry to a publicly advertised event held in a town-owned facility.
  • When Haywood County Republican Party Chair Kim Genova and Waynesville resident Shannon Morgan — who said he’d signed the room rental agreement — physically blocked entry to a conference room at the Waynesville Recreation Center just before 2 p.m. on July 18, the reporter was told that it was a private event.
  • The event had been advertised at least nine times on social media by the Haywood GOP since June 30, with no mention of ticketing or an RSVP process.
  • The Citizen Times reporter immediately called Waynesville Town Attorney Martha Bradley and put Bradley on speaker, so those blocking entry could hear her explain the general policy that public events at town facilities should be open to all members of the law-abiding public. Genova and Morgan continued to interrupt Bradley, but ultimately did not agree. Morgan said he had called 911. Genova threatened to sue.Similar restrictions occurred July 9 at a Raleigh event where Whatley accepted the unanimous endorsement of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association. Several reporters were denied entry. Organizers called police on The Assembly politics reporter Bryan R. Anderson after he tried to attend, while NC Newsline reporters were told they would not be credentialed because they had missed a deadline in a media advisory the outlet said it never received.
  • Campaign spokesperson DJ Griffin declined to address the police response or make Whatley available for an interview.
  • This latest incident comes as Whatley’s Senate campaign faces broader questions about his judgment, his performance as Tropical Storm Helene “recovery czar” and his ties to North Carolina. Among those concerns are recent reporting by the Citizen Times on FEMA reform recommendations issued by a subcommittee Whatley chaired that could boost his portfolio; Whatley’s support for Harvey West Jr., a convicted sex offender who held Republican leadership posts; that Whatley faced arrest in 2015 over repeated failures to appear in court for traffic citations; and a Carolina Hurricanes-related gaffe, reported by The Assembly, that Democrats seized on to challenge his familiarity with the state.

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