Resident offers to meet video creator, calls for removal of online posts he says threaten Haywood County officials

At the start of the Dec. 16 meeting, resident and business owner Howard Nepper praised the county's response to Tropical Storm Helene and raised concerns about online videos he said threaten local officials and could intimidate the community. Nepper identified the video creator as John Ward and said he wanted the videos taken down.

"I would like to offer him, maybe 2,000 or $3,000 and have a lot of people that wanna donate a lot of things," Nepper said, describing the offer as a private negotiation he would pursue to secure removal of the content. He framed his concern as a public-safety issue, saying federal law prohibits posting material intended to intimidate public officials and stressing that while no one had been harmed, the potential for violence was real.

Nepper also praised multiple county departments (the health department, sheriff's office and building department) for responding rapidly after Helene and described local relief work feeding hundreds of workers and residents in Canton. He asked that commissioners or sheriff's staff help arrange a meeting with Ward.

Board members did not take immediate enforcement action during the meeting; commissioners acknowledged the concern and noted that criminal charges or FBI involvement would be required to remove content in some circumstances. The issue remained an unresolved complaint and a request for a private meeting and potential donation-based negotiation.

Why it matters: The comment combined praise for official disaster response with a request to address online content that residents say is harmful or intimidating; the board acknowledged the seriousness of the concern without committing to a specific enforcement step.