Mother of 3 v. Chesterfield VA County Government
Donation protected
The saga began March 22, 2022, when Charlotte Carter, a LPN who is mandated by law to report suspected child abuse, reported her concerns to Chesterfield County Virginia police after a child showed up at her home with bruises around his neck and on other parts of the body. She reported it to Chesterfield Police, who attempted to send the child home without calling Child Protective Services (CPS). Carter objected and brought the matter to the attention of the public on viral videos. She later learned through FOIA that there had been multiple previous calls to the child’s home labeled “child abuse” or “domestic” without police reports being generated or calls made to CPS.
On April 11, 2022, Chesterfield police arrested Carter and charged her with two counts of criminal trespass for being in her own home where she had a leasehold, despite Carter’s protest that she had a right to be there! On April 28, 2022, Chesterfield police returned and under threat of arrest, made her leave her home and sign a summons for another charge of criminal trespass. On May 10, 2022, the Chesterfield police arrested her again for criminal trespass, despite her protest that she was now one of the actual owners of the home. However, as they drove her to jail, the officer’s called the prosecutor who informed them that a motion to dismiss had been filed which included well-established law in Virginia that the existence of a bona fide claim of right made it impossible to have the required mens rea or criminal intent necessary to be convicted of criminal trespass. They stopped the car and released her.
The trespass charges were eventually dropped by the Commonwealth of Virginia, but that didn’t stop the onslaught of criminal charges and prosecutions. In the end, Carter faced 13 criminal charges in Chesterfield all of which were either dropped or dismissed, leaving her unemployed and saddled with attorneys’ fees for her defense.
But that isn’t the end of the story! Col. Jeffrey Katz, Chesterfield Police Chief, initiated an investigation by the Virginia State Police for “online internet harassment” against Charlotte Carter for her 1st Amendment protected activity bringing to light the activities of the Chesterfield Police and Col. Katz’ colorful background. Before coming to Chesterfield, Virginia, he resigned as Chief of Police in Boynton Beach Florida. There the FBI were investigating claims of racially motivated excessive use of force, with indictments against officers, in addition to civil suits for retaliation against Whistleblowers.
Oh, there’s more! Charlotte Carter became concerned when she was approached at night by a man in a parking lot, whom she believed to be working for or connected with Chesterfield Police after she attended a Chesterfield Board of Supervisors Meeting and complained that she believed her 1st Amendment rights were being violated and that Col. Katz’ past actions in Florida created grave concerns for her and the citizens of Chesterfield. She posted her concerns on social media but misidentified the man. The Chesterfield County Attorney’s Office, however, took the unprecedented action of representing a private party seeking damages against her in a defamation action. As soon as Carter realized her mistake, she posted an apology and correction. Carter believes this action by the County Attorney’s Office is in retaliation for her protected 1st Amendment speech and activism and raises questions about the motive of the defamation action as well as the concerted actions against her.
If only that was the end of the story! Chesterfield County Attorney’s office has issued intrusive subpoenas in the civil suit against Carter. When her attorney moved to quash a subpoena that commanded her telephone carrier to produce all of her text messages, arguing that such a broad subpoena would include texts between Carter and her attorney that were protected by the sacred “attorney-client” privilege, the County Attorney refused to exclude those and the judge retorted, “maybe you should have had those conversations in your office.” These actions are outrageous! Charlotte Carter is a single mother of 3 children and cannot afford the legal representation and defense without your help!
On April 11, 2022, Chesterfield police arrested Carter and charged her with two counts of criminal trespass for being in her own home where she had a leasehold, despite Carter’s protest that she had a right to be there! On April 28, 2022, Chesterfield police returned and under threat of arrest, made her leave her home and sign a summons for another charge of criminal trespass. On May 10, 2022, the Chesterfield police arrested her again for criminal trespass, despite her protest that she was now one of the actual owners of the home. However, as they drove her to jail, the officer’s called the prosecutor who informed them that a motion to dismiss had been filed which included well-established law in Virginia that the existence of a bona fide claim of right made it impossible to have the required mens rea or criminal intent necessary to be convicted of criminal trespass. They stopped the car and released her.
The trespass charges were eventually dropped by the Commonwealth of Virginia, but that didn’t stop the onslaught of criminal charges and prosecutions. In the end, Carter faced 13 criminal charges in Chesterfield all of which were either dropped or dismissed, leaving her unemployed and saddled with attorneys’ fees for her defense.
But that isn’t the end of the story! Col. Jeffrey Katz, Chesterfield Police Chief, initiated an investigation by the Virginia State Police for “online internet harassment” against Charlotte Carter for her 1st Amendment protected activity bringing to light the activities of the Chesterfield Police and Col. Katz’ colorful background. Before coming to Chesterfield, Virginia, he resigned as Chief of Police in Boynton Beach Florida. There the FBI were investigating claims of racially motivated excessive use of force, with indictments against officers, in addition to civil suits for retaliation against Whistleblowers.
Oh, there’s more! Charlotte Carter became concerned when she was approached at night by a man in a parking lot, whom she believed to be working for or connected with Chesterfield Police after she attended a Chesterfield Board of Supervisors Meeting and complained that she believed her 1st Amendment rights were being violated and that Col. Katz’ past actions in Florida created grave concerns for her and the citizens of Chesterfield. She posted her concerns on social media but misidentified the man. The Chesterfield County Attorney’s Office, however, took the unprecedented action of representing a private party seeking damages against her in a defamation action. As soon as Carter realized her mistake, she posted an apology and correction. Carter believes this action by the County Attorney’s Office is in retaliation for her protected 1st Amendment speech and activism and raises questions about the motive of the defamation action as well as the concerted actions against her.
If only that was the end of the story! Chesterfield County Attorney’s office has issued intrusive subpoenas in the civil suit against Carter. When her attorney moved to quash a subpoena that commanded her telephone carrier to produce all of her text messages, arguing that such a broad subpoena would include texts between Carter and her attorney that were protected by the sacred “attorney-client” privilege, the County Attorney refused to exclude those and the judge retorted, “maybe you should have had those conversations in your office.” These actions are outrageous! Charlotte Carter is a single mother of 3 children and cannot afford the legal representation and defense without your help!
Organizer
Charlotte Carter
Organizer
Brandermill, VA