NC Republicans continue to defy governor’s orders by holding large party without masks

North Carolina’s Republicans continued in December to defy the governor’s order as well as public health recommendations by gathering without masks at a large holiday party featuring new Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn.

The N.C. Federation of Young Republicans held a Christmas party on Dec. 18 in Carthage, according to 171 photographs posted on Facebook on Dec. 24.

Like the GOP’s other gatherings in December, including one on Dec. 5, the people in attendance did not wear masks, shared microphones, shook hands and posed for photos with their arms around one another. Those are practices health officials discourage as the coronavirus pandemic surges to new highs.

After The News & Observer published this article, the N.C. Federation of Young Republicans released a statement saying the organization conducted temperature checks at the door and advised members to stay home if they were sick. The organization also said they told attendees to wear a mask when they weren’t seated or actively eating or drinking.

Tim Wigginton, spokesman for the N.C. GOP, did not respond to two voicemails from The News & Observer to allow the newspaper to ask about the Republicans’ Christmas parties. The N&O left Wigginton a voicemail hours before the party asking if it would be canceled after Republicans were notified that the chef from a Dec. 5 Christmas party — held in a different location — was hospitalized with COVID-19. The N&O called Wigginton Thursday about the photographs from the Dec. 18 party.

Cawthorn, who had not been sworn in yet when he attended the party, and Catherine Whiteford, the event’s organizer, also didn’t respond to voicemails seeking comment.

N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell attended the event on Dec. 5, but said he wore a mask, except while giving a speech. There is an exception in the governor’s mask mandate that allows for face coverings to be removed while giving a speech. Folwell is listed as a special guest of the Dec. 18 event but said he made a quick appearance, wore a mask and left before dinner.

Early into the pandemic, Folwell was hospitalized with the virus but has since recovered. He said he is “about the mask” but added he’s not sure it’s fair to say other Republicans are not.

‘Set the right examples’

The Dec. 5 event, held at Coley Hall at the Liberty in Surry County, prompted Gov. Roy Cooper’s office to call on North Carolina’s leaders to set an example.

“Elected officials who care about our overwhelmed health workers and the lives of our most vulnerable people will cancel parties and mask up during a critical time of record-high cases and hospitalizations,” said Dory MacMillan, Cooper’s press secretary. “Leaders from all political stripes should come together and set the right examples.”

That didn’t stop the sold-out Dec. 18 party from taking place. Keynote speakers at the latest event included Cawthorn and GOP Chairman Michael Whatley. Outgoing U.S. Rep. Mark Walker and state Rep. James Boles, a Southern Pines Republican, joined Folwell as special guests.

On Dec. 18, 466,104 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in North Carolina resulting in 6,125 deaths. As of Thursday, the death toll had risen by 623 people after 539,545 North Carolinians tested positive.

As cases rose in mid-November, Cooper issued an executive order that limited the number of people who could gather indoors to 10, and with limited exceptions, everyone at an indoor event must wear masks.

Few photos in the event album show people complying with the mask mandate. Those who wore masks also were photographed throughout the event without masks.

The party, held at Filly & Colt’s restaurant in Carthage, was lucrative for the Young Republicans. Whiteford documented the event on her own social media pages and said that the Christmas party resulted in $14,000 for the organization.

Tickets cost $35 for members, and $75 to $100 for guests. Sponsorships ranged from $500 to $5,000.

Chef gets COVID

The Dec. 5 Christmas party in Surry County also was a fundraiser, but people in attendance at the Dec. 18 event seemed unaware of a warning from the venue owner that the chef from that event had been hospitalized.

Cicely McCulloch, the owner of Coley Hall, said on Dec. 18 that she believed the chef contracted the virus after the GOP function when he attended a family gathering the weekend of Dec. 12. Still, she said told the GOP event organizers of his hospitalization.

“I did call the GOP, and spoke with the person in charge of the function, asked if anyone had contracted (the virus), because of the negative press we have been getting,” McCulloch said.

She added that the chef had not worked at an event at the restaurant held after the Dec. 5 party.

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 6:25 AM.