The assault case involving Chad Nesbitt, founder of SKYline News, has stirred significant controversy and debate within the Asheville community. This article delves into the details of the incident, the subsequent investigation, and the broader context of Nesbitt's role in local politics.
Downtown Asheville, where the incident occurred.
The Assault and Initial Reactions
On Sept. 23, Chad Nesbitt sustained a head injury while livestreaming a demonstration in downtown Asheville. During the march, some participants attempted to block Nesbitt’s camera with umbrellas and signs. Following a brief verbal exchange, Nesbitt was knocked over, hitting his head against a parking meter.
Dozens of people gathered Monday night in Asheville for a prayer vigil for SKYline News founder Chad Nesbitt, who was seriously injured during last week's protest over the Breonna Taylor case.
The incident occurred during a protest against a grand jury's decision not to indict Louisville, Kentucky, police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor. Nesbitt was attempting to film the demonstration as protesters tried to obstruct his view. According to police reports, his bodyguard was pushed and fell into Nesbitt. Videos of the encounter show Nesbitt lying near a parking meter, apparently unconscious.
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Following the assault, friends initiated a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Nesbitt’s medical expenses.
Prayer vigil held for SKYline News founder Chad Nesbitt
The Police Investigation
Asheville police are investigating a stabbing. It left one man with serious injuries. Officers responded to Erskine Street around midnight Wednesday morning. Police say several witnesses reported seeing a man with a stab wound leave the scene in a vehicle.
Police say they believe the person involved is a white male, approximately 6 feet tall who was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, baseball cap and a dark face covering. APD can be reached at 828-252-1110.
On Nov. 19, Nesbitt stated that a suspect in the assault had been identified but declined to provide a name, citing an ongoing investigation. However, later that day, he insisted the case was still open and that there were "28 leads on other suspects," despite APD's statement that the case was closed on Nov. 18.
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In response, Hallingse said it had been made "very clear to him" that leads were exhausted.
All leads have been exhausted into a Sept. 19, said the case will be reopened if there is any new useful information.
Nesbitt, who suffered a spinal fluid leak, appeared in court with a cane. He said he was having trouble walking and could not hear out of his right ear, but was seeing specialists and was hoping to be able to drive again.
That was the same day Nesbitt appeared in court as he and a left-wing journalist, Veronica Coit, sought restraining orders against each other. The hearings, in which Coit claims Nesbitt came to her house and Nesbitt said people inspired by Coit's social media posts to came to his property, was continued at the joint request of their attorneys.
"I am now raising the reward to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who assaulted my security man and me," he said in a text. The reward had been $5,500.
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Chad Nesbitt's Background and Controversies
Since the early 2000s, Chad Nesbitt has been a prominent figure in Asheville, known for his outspoken advocacy of conservative Christian values. Often at the center of controversy, the free-swinging local activist and community journalist was recently injured while reporting on a protest in downtown Asheville.
To bring readers up to speed on Nesbitt’s often controversial role in local politics, Xpress combed through past reporting, press releases and community responses concerning his initiatives and antics over the last 20 years.
Known today as an outspoken conservative Christian, Nesbitt began his political career as a Democrat, serving on the 1991-92 board of directors for the Buncombe County chapter of Young Democrats. “My entire family were Democrats,” Nesbitt told Xpress in 2007 (see “Fighting Mad,” Dec. 5, 2007, Xpress).
Chad, however, said his early exposure to the party’s inner circle, along with the 1994 birth of his daughter, Savannah, ultimately shaped his conservative beliefs.
Raised in West Asheville in the 1970s and ’80s, Nesbitt graduated from Erwin High School in 1988 before attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. Alongside those endeavors, Nesbitt worked at WNC Parking Lot Services, a business his grandfather Jim Rhew launched in 1973. A Jan. 30, 1994, article in the Asheville Citizen-Times described Nesbitt as Rhew’s “right-hand man.” By 2016, while pursuing an unsuccessful campaign for chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Nesbitt listed himself as the company’s vice president and manager.
Although he’s been active in the community throughout much of his adult life, Nesbitt began appearing more frequently in local news coverage around 2003. On March 1 of that year, he helped organize the Support Our Soldiers rally, which attracted around 1,500 participants according to a Citizen-Times report.
Numbers aside, the budding activist applauded the rally and assured readers that his organization stood ready to assist those in need. “If you think your loved one is missing or hurt in battle, we will help you find out his or her status,” he wrote. “If you need any handyman work done around the house while your loved one is serving overseas, just ask. If you need someone to sit with an elderly family member, just ask. If you are a soldier and need help for anything - medical, communication, etc. - just ask.
Nesbitt subsequently chaired Citizens for Decency in Broadcasting, a grassroots group that opposed Buncombe County government’s interest in and support for public-access television. “Using our tax dollars and cable fees to promote someone else’s agenda on TV is wrong,” he wrote in a March 2, 2004, guest commentary in the Citizen-Times. Despite the group’s efforts, URTV hit the airwaves in 2006.
A year after URTV’s debut, Nesbitt launched an unsuccessful bid to chair the Buncombe County Republican Party. A few months after his defeat, he formed the Carolina Stompers, a for-profit organization that aggressively promoted conservative causes.
Early on, the group opposed a proposed amendment to the state personnel act that would add sexual orientation to the rights protected by law; the amendment was co-sponsored by Nesbitt’s stepfather.
In 2010, Nesbitt was elected chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party. His tenure was controversial and brief, however.
In a Nov. House of Representatives, the local results favored Democrats. Rep. Susan Fisher defeated challenger John Carroll in N.C. House District 114; Rep. Patsy Keever beat Mark Crawford for state House District 115; and Rep. Heath Shuler breezed past Jeff Miller in the 11th Congressional District race.
Soon thereafter, Nesbitt announced that he would not seek reelection in the spring.
Since leaving his position with the local Republican Party, Nesbitt has remained an active and controversial figure in Buncombe County’s political and social affairs.
Like everything else about Nesbitt’s public life, the events leading up to his injury continue to elicit a range of responses.
Community Reactions
The community's reaction to Nesbitt's injury has been divided. Some express sympathy and concern for his well-being, while others criticize his political views and actions.
To many of his online critics, he is an unsympathetic firebrand. “I am not a fan of his media style or his politics. However, CN is an injured human being with a family who loves him, and I’m praying for him, his wife, his daughter and family,” wrote Amanda S.
“I’ve watched several livestream videos of the accident in which he was injured, and head injuries can go from being no big deal to being serious very quickly. We share your inclination to get the whole story.
Chad Nesbitt is a scourge who is taking advantage of his alt-right cult by begging for money.
This is a very helpful review of Chad Nesbitt’s career, mostly in his own words from previously published interviews. The author’s intent is clear: ” if you’re among the thousands of people who’ve arrived in Asheville within the last five years, or you simply haven’t paid much attention to local politics, Nesbitt might be a name you’ve heard only in passing.” A legitimate and even necessary news/analysis piece for MX readers.
With all due respect, this type of reporting stands as facile, as it glosses over the real controversies precipitating from Chad and the greater Skyline community. Offering critique in a way that shows respect to an injured man is one thing. But writing in a way that shrugs off his manipulative, sensational, instigative, and dangerous political agitations serves to legitimize them.
Chad Nesbitt has been identified as a known agitator in the Citizen Times and other outlets. His injury is unfortunate.
Chad is a far-right yellow journalist who, in exploiting the volatility of the current political climate, has been actively seeking to deepen divisions in WNC. Sensationalism, agent provocateurs, abetting others to ‘get their hands dirty’ are a problem for our community, and need to be called out and addressed.
The least harmful stunt in Nesbitt’s political “career” involved sitting on a horse at the mall intersection.
Just saw this article. Thank you Mnt Xpress. The comments are slanderous. I am not a white supremacist. I love black people and all minorities. I have been fighting for minorities all my life. Just because I believe BLM has been high jacked by a bunch of communist anarchists does not make me racist. Just because I believe women deserve the safety and privacy of their own restroom does not mean I hate gay people. Men sharing restrooms with women is wrong. Militant gay people wanted same sex bathrooms. It was a gay agenda at the time.
Skyline News is financially supported by other existing enterprises.
The article goes on to say she freely labeled anyone a racist that didn't think like her. The death threats and doxxing were substantiated by APD and BCSO against Chad and his friends long before it was reciprocated (without the death threats).
Many conservative democrats, moderate and conservative republicans espouse the same sentiment about the rioting and looting in downtown Asheville. It is not a symptom of Chad Nesbitt's style in coverage. The rioting, vandalism, and looting has only facilitated opposition against the "BLM" movement.
His coverage includes more than reposting police reports. His investigative coverage of Brother Wolf, the needle dispensaries, and antifa is what journalists do.
The former Buncombe County Republican chairman said other reporters were doing most of the posting on Skyline News, though he has appeared in videos, including one Nov. 3 with winning GOP congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn.
Билл Гейтс в 70 лет: "Я ошибался". Как выжить в новом мире? | Интервью
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1991-92 | Served on the board of directors for the Buncombe County chapter of Young Democrats |
| 2003 | Organized the Support Our Soldiers rally |
| 2010 | Elected chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party |
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