The GOP pirates are a group that either lost their election bid to become leaders at the 2021 GOP Reorg, or didn’t like who the people chose. “Reorg” or reorganization is a biennial election where precinct members elect leadership and delegates to represent them. Precincts form the foundation on which the Republican Party is built and provide individuals an opportunity to have input into the selection of Republican Party leadership, platform, and candidates. Reorg ensures that we remain a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The GOP pirates did not like who the people elected and colluded with the highest officers of the Republican Party in South Carolina to circumnavigate the elected leadership the people voted for. The GOP pirates consist of Reese Boyd III (loser of the Horry County GOP Chairman race at the 2021 Reorg, Chairman of the imposter HCGOP {which has divided the party into people who support the will of the people vs. the will of the establishment}, lawyer, and radio host), Don Bowne (Head of Red Hats America, regular guest on local radio, board member of Veterans Welcome Home and Resource Center VWHRC {which he uses to promote his political aims}, and founding member of the Horry County Conservative Alliance HCCA which uses the VWHRC to attain political viability. Jim Furry (former FBI agent who lost his bid to become State Executive Officer (EC) at the 2021 Reorg), Gerri McDaniel (who was fired by the Trump campaign in 2016, but still wants to be considered relevant by staying closely connected with the State Party Chairman), and Shannon Grady (former president of the Horry County Republican Women’s Club-HCRWC and current State EC of the HCGOP, AKA the whistleblower)
Reese started a chat room on Telegram that included the 5 pirates listed above. He named the chat room “The GOP Pirates” and created a skull and crossbones with an eye patch and a red scarf around its head labeled GOP as a logo.
The Reorg election cycle ends in May. The debut of the GOP pirates was on July 2, 2021 at 9:18 in the morning. The pirates started working right away to circumvent the will of the people. They clearly chose division of the party over trying to unify and strengthen the party. The first line of the chat states that “Reece Boyd created the group “GOP Pirates”. The second line states that “Reece Boyd changed group photo” and then shows the skull and crossbones logo. Notice that Reese spells his own name wrong. Is it to throw us off his scent? The first post is by Don Bowne, he posts a cartoon picture of a pirate with a raised cutlass at 2:54 in the afternoon of the same day.
Chad Caton had a local radio show called “I’m Fired Up” which kept his audience informed as to what was going on inside local politics. He told his audience during every show that politics starts local. The establishment did not like him and made sure his show was canceled. He was an integral part of educating the public about Reorg and is how I found out about the opportunity to get involved. The tag line for his show is “Show up, Stand up, Speak up, it’s your republic, fight for it”. Chad moved his show online and “I’m Fired Up” can be seen on several social media platforms. Shannon Grady appeared on “I’m Fired Up” and revealed to Chad that she was involved with meetings to “circumnavigate” the duly elected leadership of the people of Horry County. She stated that Reese Boyd was the leader of the coup that was trying to take over the HCGOP.
Reese lied to Liz Callaway of WTKN and the residents of Horry County when she asked him about what Shannon said. This forced Shannon to defend herself with the facts. She released screenshots from the GOP pirates chat room. The actual screenshots are worth reading to fully understand the plot that the pirates were hatching. There are several hours of commentary and guest interviews that help Chad’s audience fully appreciate the depravity of the pirates. I have taken excerpts from the screen shots and added my own commentary in blue to help the reader better understand their plot in a shorter period of time. It is my hope that the following will help readers understand what the GOP pirates were doing in their quest to usurp the will of the people. I joined the GOP in 2021, when I was elected as Executive Committeeman (EC) of my precinct. I have been shocked, appalled, and dismayed by how the establishment has been fighting against the will of the people. The GOP pirates chat room gives an insider and detailed perspective of how the local establishment works with the state establishment to squelch election results they don’t like to give themselves more power and control.
The full list of screen shots and several hours of great analysis with guest speakers can be seen on Facebook on the “I’m Fired Up” page. There are several guests from other counties in SC who tell how the Chairman of the SC Republican party has been interfering with their counties as well. Grady, the whistleblower and Roger Slagle (the duly elected Chairman of the HCGOP) are also featured.
One important topic that Shannon exposed that is not mentioned in the pirates chat room is the new movers list. The new movers list is the list of Republicans that have recently moved into the state. This is a very important tool to help the county grow the party. The list was given to the unelected auxiliary group that our State Republican Chairman, Drew McKissick, preferred. Shannon still has a copy of the list. Roger Slagle, the duly elected Chairman of the HCGOP never got a copy.
Black-Quotes from the GOP pirates
Blue-My commentary
July 2, 2021
Boyd and Bowne post pictures of pirates they like
July 8
Furry- I think the five of us are already formulating a unified opposition
The pirates have been working on opposing the HCGOP for an unknown period of time.
July 9
Furry- Agreed. Maybe Drew (McKissick, Chairman of the SC Republican Party) could meet with us sometime and give us some ideas how to cointer (they are not good at spelling) their grassroots efforts.
Does Furry understand how the GOP works? The Republican party is built from the grassroots up by electing leadership to represent THEM. Does Furry believe that McKissick should dictate down to the grassroots what he and the establishment want?
July 10
Furry- Reese did great having Shannon & Linda on this morning.
Furry thinks using Reese’s show for propaganda is very important.
July 13
Grady- I spoke to Hope (Walker, Executive Director SC Republican Party) and I think we continue moving forward with the HCRWC acting as the “auxiliary club” that Drew suggested in Greenville. We are already doing the work that needs to be done.
Drew suggested bypassing the election results by using an unelected group that he favors.
Bowne- I totally agree and I think we must keep a unified front between the three groups……. (The HCRWC, but who else????)
Furry- I wish WTKN didn’t give Tracy (Beanz, newly elected State EC for the HCGOP) any air time as well.
Furry- And when we get a stream of Henry McMaster, Pamela Evette, Lindsay Graham, Tim Scott, etc visiting our groups and ignoring them, people will be asking “What’s wrong with them?”
Drew instructed political officials not to interact with the group that was elected by the people of Horry County.
Bowne- Totally agree with your assessment Jim.
Reese- If you guys want to pass along advice to Folks to write the station, when letters start showing up with the general manager’s name on it, they pay attention.
Bowne- Just for the record I have told Liz personally, when Tracy Beanz gets on the air every Wednesday at 8 o’clock, I turn the station off for ½ hour!
Tracy lost her segment on the radio. A segment that helped drive people like me to her news website. They took away a revenue stream from Tracy to silence her from telling the public the wonderful things the HCGOP was doing. The establishment could not let a representative the people voted for have a voice.
July 15
Bowne- I say maybe it’s time to take the gloves off and fight the local HCGOP with vengeance
Boyd- In the next couple of weeks, Drew is going to be a guest (on Boyd’s radio show) and will spend some time reflecting on it all, but I don’t want it to come off as Pardison (partisan), so I’m going to push that piece of it back a little bit.
Bowne- I plan on talking about it tomorrow morning on the radio
Furry- I am primed to attack but want the attack to have maximum effect
Furry- Anything back on Catons FOIPA (freedom of information/privacy acts) request reaponse (response) said there was no information which could be released and nothing on Elizabeth
Boyd- Guys I am just thinking that we want to start a new organization, but we want it to be an organization that won’t be tagged as a “proxy” organization for the HCGOP.
Boyd- Horry County Republican Citizens Alliance? Just thinking out loud….
The pirates really want to fight the results of the last election. They will use the radio and FOIPA requests. They want to start a new unelected organization to fight the elected organization. Reese wants the unelected group to be called the HCRCA. He later is involved with a group called the HCCA who are currently attempting a coup to overthrow the HCGOP leadership.
July ??
Furry- Player Tucker (the lawyer representing the liberal activist who threatened General Michael Flynn after a Republican event in Greenville, SC. Chad successfully neutralized the threat. The liberal activist is trying to sue members of the HCGOP) emailed me and wants to talk to me.
Furry wants to work with democrats to harm the local Republican party leadership
McDaniel- I talked to Hope (Walker, SC Executive Director Republican party)she called we just need 10 people.
McDaniel- She (Hope Walker) also asked if we had contacted Mike Connett (loser of his bid to become State EC at Reorg 2021).
The state is working with the GOP pirates to overthrow the duly elected leaders of the HCGOP
Furry- Have you read the Sun News article that Tucker Player will drop the lawsuit if all the officers resign and Chad retracts his statement? He says otherwise he will sue ALL of the HCGOP EC’s personally!!!
The GOP pirates and their puppets organized a meeting that allowed EC’s to sign a document to get out of a frivolous lawsuit that did not involve them. The GOP pirates did this to weaken the case that the HCGOP lawyers were making and strengthen the case put forth by the Democrats.
July 24
Furry- They are really radicals. 100% of their bodies believe they are right. Perfect extremist storm troopers.
The GOP pirates have convinced themselves that the representatives the people elected are evil storm troopers. This allows them to abide by the leftist mantra of “the ends justify the means” and act in whatever unethical way they want.
July 24-27 ?
Furry- Tucker Player emailed me and said he will be in touch later, I believe going forward he will be taking depositions and I am hoping he will file for a huge amount of damages.
Bowne-Should someone get a hold of David Hucks (a local news writer who is used by the GOP pirates to get their propaganda out)
Boyd- I will let him know
The pirates want huge monetary damages against the organization they say they care about.
July 28
Boyd- Hey guys, just a reminder that we are meeting today at five in my office. Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette attended the meeting. Reese told listeners on WTKN that he held a meeting that the whistle blower spoke about, but he was only the host and didn’t have any more involvement than that.
McDaniel- Odd that his wife resigned from Shannon’s group
This refers to a woman who was “2nd Vice” in Shannon’s (the whistleblower) group. She found out about the plot to use the Women’s group she was involved with to usurp the authority of the HCGOP and the will of the people.
July 29
Boyd- OK so here is the App that we discussed last night.
The pirates are going to use a database to help them with their mission to bypass the will of the people.
July 30 or 31
Furry- Reese, I am still friends with my FBI Intelligence Suprrvisor (spelling). She’s retired. I told her there were some people I was interested in finding out about.
It seems that FBI agents abusing their powers is systemic. He is hoping that the taxpayers are going to pay for research into people he doesn’t like.
August 2
McDaniel- This is the worst meeting I have ever been to!
She is referring to our monthly August meeting which I attended. The disruptors were out in full force. Mike Connett was extremely rude and arrogant. McDaniel feels she can justify her unethical behavior because she feels the pirates would run better meetings.
Furry- They escorted Larry Richardson (a man who considers himself an expert on Roberts Rules of Order and had been disrupting meetings) out again.
Larry was a big help when the new leadership got elected then he switched to being an antagonizing, disrupting, menace to orderly meetings It can be deduced that the GOP pirates influenced him.
September 21
Boyd- Guys I got my walking papers tonight. Certified mail! They are kicking me out of the GOP!
Grady- Did you miss three in a row?! Lol
Boyd- But apparently, yes I’ve missed the magic number and they are jumping at the opportunity
On the radio Boyd said he didn’t know why he was kicked out and told the listeners that he must have been on a hit list. He clearly knew that he missed the “magic number” but decided to lie to everyone instead. BTW-A “hit list” does not exist.
Date unknown
Bowne- In my opinion, Anybody trying to work with this group only gives them credibility and destroys what we’re trying to do ourselves.
Jeremy Halpin (elected Vice Chair at Reorg 2021) tried to talk to the establishment to try and calm things down. Bowne has been publicly promoting events that he claims will unify Republicans in Horry County. Privately, Bowne does not want to have any part in anything unifying.
Furry- What would be wrong with establishing an establishment party of the opposition factions and groups? Maybe we should defacto (spelling) have a Republican Party? …..Shannon, are we registering voters from some of their precincts?
De facto (in fact, or in effect, whether right or wrong). Furry wants to form a Republican party that only has establishment people in it and doesn’t care if it’s right or wrong. He does not like the election results and does not care that it is wrong to start another Republican party that the people did not vote for.
Dec 13
Furry- Home: Watching WMBF News and one of the first clips was a reporter interviewing Chad Caton spouting off against I-73. OMG-feeling sick (poo emoji). He was probably hanging around County Counsel (spelling) meeting and approached the WMBF reporter, who was probably new or young or both and didn’t know any better.
Furry is chastising Chad for exercising his civil right to attend county council meetings and voicing his opinion. The GOP pirates could have attended the same meeting to voice their opinion but decide to mock someone who takes his role in our constitutional republic seriously.
January 13, 2022
McDaniel- Nothing has happened with the suite (spelling). Tucker is working on other stuff.
Seems like McDaniel has inside knowledge of the lawyer who is representing the Democrat against fellow Republicans
January 14
Boyd- Drew knew nothing about the lawsuit against the HCGOP? How is that? But they still haven’t served Caton? WTH? Sometimes I swear it seems like the only words that come to mind are “organized stupidity”- you’ve got maybe 120 days (or 90) to get the complaint served or you have to start all over.
Boyd- Sigh…
McDaniel- Caton has been served
Is Boyd upset that McKissick is not yet involved with helping Tucker with the lawsuit against the HCGOP? McDaniel seems to know a lot about the lawsuit. Wonder where she gets her info from?
February 5
Furry- Hi, All my plans were ruined early this morning when I learned about the proposal by the bylaws committee Thursday night to allow HCGOP EC’s and Officers to campaign/support candidates before the primary.
Furry wants EC’s to be unable to support the candidate of their choice during primaries as individuals. Individual citizens can support whomever they want, but when you sign up to be a representative in the county party Furry believes you lose your constitutional rights. Does Furry believe we are to be told from the state establishment whom to support? He really does not like any grassroots movements at all. Is he against the people involved in the Tea Party? Does he not want there to be a way to hold establishment politicians accountable?
Boyd- Show of hands: who is planning on going to the HCGOP meeting?
Boyd- I think I’ll go just to throw a little gasoline on the fire….
Bowne- I just might go and help throw gasoline with you.
Personally, this makes my blood boil. I saw establishment EC’s disrupt meetings from the very beginning, then alert the media that meetings were chaotic. The above shows the GOP pirates gleefully colluding to disrupt meetings.
February 7
Boyd- I had to leave. I couldn’t take it anymore. There is nothing more valuable on this planet than time . And when I realize I’m wasting time, I start to get the shakes….
The election commissioner came to speak at the meeting Reese is referring to. Reese has been a poll worker/manager. He could have stayed to the end to help answer questions for people who might be interested in becoming poll workers. The meeting was actually so inspiring that my wife and I decided to become poll workers. Reese did not want to participate in anything that might help the HCGOP.
February 14
Boyd- Wow. Pretty powerful stuff. And it is sad But they are evil. They’re not Republicans, They’re fascists. There’s a big difference!
Furry- For sure.
Demonizing people gives you the psychopathy to justify your own unethical actions. It also shows their talk of unity is just a lie
February 17
Boyd- What do you mean changing the by-laws is no big deal? I’ve actually had a couple people call me about suing the HCGOP. I think there may be something worth pursuing.
Grady- So, if the state party says it’s nothing to worry about…I’m not going to waste time stressing
Reese is upset that individuals in the party can support candidates they like. He is also very interested in suing fellow Republicans to harm the party he says he wants to help. I am sure Democrats would be enthused by his desire to harm the Republican party.
Boyd- You can’t be upfront with a Bolshevik Jim. They are deceitful little bastards.
Bowne- I guess it’s OK to agree with you
Reese really hates fellow Republicans and yet claims he wants to unify the party.
Boyd- Let me remind everyone of the Oath of Confidentiality surrounding this discussion group!
Furry- Boy, you are so right (thumbs up emoji)
Bowne- I don’t talk
Grady- What discussion group?
Boyd- The soft rebellious underbody of the HCGOP
Are they afraid people won’t approve of their rebellion if they find out? I guess we are going to find out.
February 21
Boyd- I’ll give it a shot. I’ve already been removed as an EC-unfairly I might add-because I wrote in and gave “good cause: for my absences and they didn’t even respond, and they are not being even-handed. There are people who have missed more than me and they are still on the EC rolls.
Boyd- So I already have my round in the chamber
Reese even lies to his fellow pirates. The only way to be removed for absence is to not submit good cause. How does he know people have missed meetings when he wasn’t there to see? How does he know that people missing meetings did not send proxies or submit a good cause for absence. Not one of the pirates sympathized with him.
March 1
Furry- I went to Bylaws last night…….He (Chad Caton) ordered me to move and I told him I was free to stand wherever I want. Then Elizabeth (Chad’s wife) started yelling at me about “We know who you are,” and Chad walked by me and they left.
I was at the bylaws meeting. After the meeting which took place in a corner office, the corner hallway was busy with people who were leaving, chatting, or helping to put chairs away. Chad was talking to a few people when Elizabeth saw Furry sneaking up on Chad. She took her phone out to record what Furry might do. As Furry got closer, she yelled out to warn Chad. Chad did not hear so Elizabeth yelled “get away from him, Jim”. Furry replied, “you can’t tell me what to do’. ‘ It was obvious that Furry was trying to provoke Chad into a fight. Chad and Elizabeth took the high road and left.
The GOP pirates worked with the other local establishment and McKissick to make it extremely difficult for the duly elected county leadership to run the party effectively. At the September 12, 2022 monthly EC meeting the entire leadership team resigned effective September 30 (Vice Chair, Jeremy Halpin had resigned previously) . Roger Slagle said “I thought we brought back some integrity to this party and this county. For all members who have joined us in this populist movement, we thank you. We encourage you to keep fighting, Unfortunately the state party and the opposition from within our party has made this situation untenable”.
At a special meeting on September 26 called by the acting and current Chairman, Roger rescinded his resignation. He rescinded because members of the HCGOP like myself and leaders of other county GOP’s around the state asked him to reconsider. There is nothing in any state or local bylaw that states he can not rescind. There is case law that states it is legal. There is also common sense that states that things become effective on their effective date. Roger called a meeting to elect the remaining leadership positions. At this meeting the EC body recognized Roger as the current Chairman as he was leading the meeting and the effective date had not yet occurred, The meeting had proper quorum (bylaws state ⅔ of EC’s are needed to elect leadership if there are resignations). The establishment went nuts when Roger announced his rescindment. GOP pirate Gerri McDaniel raised her phone to say that McKissick had accepted Roger’s resignation. Of course he can accept it when it becomes effective but that day never came due the rescindment. Mike Connett (loser in his bid to become State EC at Reorg 2021) whispered to another establishment trouble maker to make a motion to adjourn the meeting so that elections could not take place. The motion passed because the EC’s thought that McKissick’s claim to accept Roger’s resignation was valid. There weren’t any Roger supporters wishing to run for leadership, meaning the establishment canceled a lawful election to elect themselves into leadership positions. McKissick could have told McDaniel to proceed with the meeting, hold valid elections and meet with the new leadership team to help iron out differences. He chose division. Next, the pirates and their establishment sycophants held an illegitimate meeting where they did not have a quorum to elect someone to an office that was not vacated. They illegally elected all new leadership that McKissick claimed was now the legitimate HCGOP. They elected GOP pirate Boyd as Chairman, Mike Connett (Reorg loser) as State EC and newcomer Robert Visconti (threatener of Elizabeth Caton, goader of Chad Caton into a fight, campaign leader of establishment politician Russel Fry, and leader of the HCCA which uses a charity group that helps veterans for “exposure” for its political goals) as Vice-Chair. If the EC’s had chosen, by vote, to accept Roger’s resignation at the September 12 meeting effective immediately, and Roger had agreed then Roger would no longer be Chairman. That did not happen. The EC’s have the sole authority to remove someone they elected. McKissick does not have the authority to remove someone if they rescind their resignation before the effective date.
Shannon Grady has shown courage for admitting she was wrong and is doing everything in her power to right that wrong. Pirates Boyd and McDaniel have gone quiet. Pirate Bowne posted on Facebook that you may be on Santa’s naughty list if you spread rumors. Pirate Furry private messaged me the following “As for the recent revelation it has absolutely no effect on me at all”. It is easier to forgive someone who asks for forgiveness than to forgive someone who will not admit their mistakes. I hope the pirates can reach the high bar that Shannon Grady has set. I hope they admit their mistakes to start the healing process. The GOP pirates and cohorts lied to members of the HCGOP by telling them that the way they elected leadership was legitimate and told them what they were doing was justified because McKissick had sanctioned the new group. The entire leadership of the faux HCGOP should resign to allow those they lied to to come back to the legitimate HCGOP that the citizens of Horry County elected. Only then can the HCGOP unite and work on the behalf of its citizens to make their community a better place.