'False, defamatory, ugly': Top NC Democrat denies accusations of drug use at party events
An unsigned email sent to Democratic Party leaders on Wednesday accused NCDP First Vice Chair Jonah Garson of a "pattern of reckless behavior," including drug use. Garson denies all the allegations.
A top leader within the North Carolina Democratic Party denies accusations of drug use, inappropriate behavior and exaggerating claims about his record of achievement since he was elected in 2023.
In an unsigned email to scores of party officials on Wednesday, an individual with a name labeled as “Albert Rossi” levied a number of allegations against First Vice Chair Jonah Garson.
The email, which comes three days before party leaders are set to decide whether to reelect Garson and other senior officers, claimed without evidence that several people within the Democratic Party “have personally witnessed Jonah Garson using cocaine at official Democratic Party events,” including at grassroots events and a July 20, 2024, Unity Dinner in Raleigh.
“This is not an isolated incident; it is a pattern of reckless behavior,” the email reads. “If we knowingly elect someone with such a blatant disregard for consequences, we invite scandal and public humiliation at the highest levels.”
The internal message further accuses Garson of falsely claiming he personally raised nearly $1 million for the NCDP and getting kicked out of a Chapel Hill bar.
In an interview on Wednesday night, Garson categorically denied all the accusations against him, calling them “false, defamatory, ugly [and] deeply upsetting.”
“I have never used cocaine in my life,” Garson told Anderson Alerts. “It is false. It's defamatory. And it's an upsetting smear three days before whatever party election.”
Garson, an attorney, said he and state officers held an emergency meeting Wednesday night and that he expects himself and the state party to provide a public statement shortly.
Democratic state Sen. Graig Meyer of Orange County, is urging fellow Democrats to support Garson, who faces multiple challengers for his first vice chair seat.
“I have known Jonah for over a decade,” Meyer said. “I have never known him to be a cocaine user or a substance abuser at any time. He deserves to be thanked and reelected for his work. Everyone needs to grow. Jonah and I have had disagreements over time. But he does not deserve this.”
Garson has previously reported having enough support to win reelection.
The unsigned email sent to party leaders includes a video uploaded to YouTube in December 2024 of Garson being kicked out of the Blue Horn Lounge in Chapel Hill.
Garson said he was sitting in his car when a bar patron opened his car door. Garson said he alerted police and then walked across the street to confront the Blue Horn Lounge’s bartender, urging him to do a better job of cutting off inebriated customers.
Talon Swayze, the bartender, said in an interview on Wednesday that Garson acted inappropriately when he entered the establishment. Sawyze said Garson falsely accused him of serving alcohol to undergraduate college students.
“He [Garson] apparently witnessed an undergraduate purchase a beer from here and leave with it, which wasn’t the case at all,” Swayze said. “This kid wasn’t even a college student. This was like a grown man. Garson just tried to say that he witnessed that and then called the police and then talked to them first. … It was actually kind of comedic in a way.”
Swayze said Garson came in the next day and berated a colleague of his. Garson said he came in the day after the incident so he could speak with someone about what took place.
Garson said he and the state party are working to track down the origins of the claims leveled against him and how the sender got a list of executive committee members who received the email.
Meyer, the state senator, said Garson ought to sue the email sender if it is discovered.
“Anyone who is going to make libelous accusations like this without putting their actual name on it is a f***ing p***y and they deserve to be sued,” Meyer said.
The state Democratic Party didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. An email associated with the unsigned message sent to party leaders didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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