Buncombe Rep. party chair charged with assault; GOP silent on code of conduct, next steps

ASHEVILLE — Two weeks after Buncombe County GOP chair Douglas Brown was charged with assault after allegedly putting hands on County School Board of Education member Amy Churchill at the Republican party headquarters in Asheville, the GOP remains silent about whether there will be any corrective action taken within the party.

The Citizen Times made multiple calls to GOP board members and the state GOP, but no one would comment on whether they have a code of conduct or any written rules in place regarding harassment at board meetings or between members.

Brown faces a charge of assault on a female, a Class A1 misdemeanor, after Churchill said he slammed a door in her face, told her she’s “not a real Republican” and pushed her, directly after a monthly political party meeting in the Republican party headquarters, at 18 G Regent Park Boulevard.

“I was trying to point out to him that I did actually follow the Republican principles that were listed above the front door of the party headquarters, and as I was trying to get those words out, he slammed a door leading into the meeting room in my face,” Churchill told the Citizen Times Aug. 7, adding that she then walked up to Brown and told him that was rude.

“He said that he had enough of me, and I needed to leave, and that’s when he put his arms on my upper shoulder and clavicle area and started to push.”

Churchill, a life-long registered Republican, said she had to place her right leg behind her, which was recovering from a fractured ankle at the time, to brace herself against Brown’s force.

This alleged physical assault is a part of an ongoing feud between the Buncombe GOP and Churchill, who was censured in June by the Buncombe GOP after she supported Democratic candidates in a nonpartisan school board race. Brown called Churchill on Father’s Day this year to ask if she would leave the party, saying it “would be easier on everybody,” according to Churchill.

On July 25, a day after the alleged incident, Churchill reported it to the Buncombe County Magistrate's Office. A magistrate decided to file a criminal summons against Brown based on probable cause. Churchill told the Citizen Times that she slept on the decision overnight, saying it “wasn’t something I took lightly.”

Brown, who became head of the local GOP in March, has a court date set for Sept. 7.

Doug Brown, 64, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. He is a co-leader of the Christian-based National Leadership Council and, before stepping on as GOP chair, he was a salesman and business owner. Brown ran for Asheville City Council in 2022 but did not secure a nomination.

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The Citizen Times spoke to two GOP board members, Bruce O’Connell and Stewart Brown, regarding the Republican Party's next steps in light of the charges against Doug Brown. They both said to speak with Doug Brown ― the same person with pending criminal charges.

“If you’re asking if we have a written, spelled out code of conduct, I honestly don’t know. That’s a good question,” said O’Connell, the local GOP’s secretary. Regarding Churchill, he said, “I can tell you the goal was to allow her to come and to be courteous and respectful. That was the goal. It was talked about, and it was agreed that we are not going to ban anyone that’s a Republican from coming to Republican meetings as long as everyone maintains a good attitude.”

O’Connell said he was at the meeting but did not see the alleged assault, although he claimed it was Churchill who became “out of hand or overboard verbally with some of the attendees.”

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The Citizen Times asked Glenda Weinert, former chair of the Buncombe GOP, if the county GOP has a written code of conduct. Weinert said she spoke with the North Carolina GOP, which advised her to say, "no comment."

Churchill said she has not heard from anyone at the N.C. GOP following the incident, nor from Brown himself.

“I think at the end of the day, I hope that it helps him really think about how he handles people he disagrees with, especially in a leadership position,” Churchill said regarding what she’d like to see come out of this. “Hopefully Doug will be held to a higher standard by the GOP, whatever that looks like.”

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at [email protected]. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe GOP chair charged with assault; GOP silent on code of conduct