Protestors say Supervisor Bailey violated oath, trust; plan 1st Amendment rally

Protesters will hold a 1st Amendment rights rally outside the Prince William County Government Center on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, at 1:30 p.m.

The rally comes in response to multiple police investigations into Dumfries resident Robert Hand, an outspoken critic of the Board of County Supervisors.

Those investigations have had a chilling effect on free speech in the county, as many are now afraid to speak out against their local government, protestors say.

On multiple occasions, county police have been asked to investigate Hand after he participated in online town hall meetings, spoke at Board of County Supervisors meetings during citizens time, and after he sent an email critical of the County Board with the subject line “government target,” in which he claimed two sitting Supervisors were targeting another citizen for criticizing them.

Supervisor Andrea Bailey, who hosted a town hall meeting on Facebook in April, asked police to investigate Hand after participating in the meeting. Bailey told police Hand was being “persistently rude and disrespectful” during the Facebook chat, she booted Hand from the chat, and that she temporarily banned him from her Facebook page.

On August 3, Bailey’s husband, Rev. Cozy Bailey, Chairman of the police department’s Citizen Advisory Board, asked police Chief Peter Newsham to look into Hand’s email titled “government target.”

Both cases were unfounded, according to police reports. Last month, we posted a body camera video of an officer talking to Hand at his residence, repeatedly telling him he did nothing wrong.

Prince William County Republican Chairman Tim Parrish issued this statement ahead of Tuesday’s rally:

“While we do the important work of accomplishing these tasks, we must also keep our momentum up with the local issues facing our community. As you are aware, the Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey has violated her oath, and the sacred trust shared between the representative and the represented. As Americans, we appreciate public discourse and spirited conversation, but we never appreciate gross infringement on our rights…Supervisor Bailey violated the absolute First Amendment right of one of her constituents, by sending the police to his home for simply disagreeing with her and voicing his concerns.”

Hand sent the email that police described as unthreatening after the July 20 Board County Supervisors meeting. It was then Supervisor Bailey was caught on a hot microphone asking Chair At-large Ann Wheeler what she was going to do about Alan Gloss, a citizen who had just spoken at the microphone criticizing Wheeler and the list of donors on a recent campaign finance report.

Cozy Bailey asked police to investigate the “government target” email out of “an abundance of caution.”

Supervisor Andrea Bailey said, “my life has to be protected in order to serve at that high level (referring to her role as county supervisor). So when my life is in jeopardy, my husband is always going to protect me.”

The Bailey’s have not responded to multiple requests for comment from Potomac Local, the news organization that broke the story.

Earlier this year in March, County Police Maj. Kevin Hughart asked his officers to investigate Hand after speaking at a March meeting of the Board of County Supervisors. There, he told Supervisors he planned to purchase a rifle with a government stimulus check.

Once again, police found no threat, according to a police incident report. On Friday, Hand told Potomac Local News the rifle is for self-defense.

The Board of County Supervisors will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday, September 7, for the first time since Supervisors went into summer recess on August 3. Police Chief Peter Newsham will be at the meeting to take questions about the investigations after Republicans on the Board called for a full accounting of events in the matter.