Sevier Co. official who went on homophobic rant greeted by advocates for love, not hate

Jamie Satterfield | Knoxville

Show Caption Hide Caption Protesters chant "Nazis go home" outside a Sevier County meeting Dozens gathered outside the Sevier County Courthouse to protest Commissioner Warren Hurts's anti-LGBTQ slur.

They were white. Many were straight allies.

All wore red — a symbol of the love these Sevier County residents said they planned to carry to a local leader who put this tourism mecca into a media firestorm with his homophobic, racist rant at a public meeting.

"We're not here out of anger," Pigeon Forge pastor Billy Bailey told a crowd of more than 100 red-wearing residents who showed up at a rally an hour before the Sevier County Commission was set to meet Monday.

It was the first commission meeting since Commissioner Warren Hurst went on a seven-minute homophobic, racist rant at one a month earlier.

"We're here to talk about love," Bailey continued. "I believe we have an opportunity to live in a community that is welcoming, loving ... no matter who you are."

An hour later, Bailey would carry that message to Hurst.

"I love you with all my heart," Bailey told Hurst at Monday night's meeting. "I'm someone who moved here because ... of the love I see in all of the faces here."

Leaders tense at meeting's opening

More than 200 people showed up at Monday night's commission meeting. Commissioners and County Mayor Larry Waters had already braced for a crowd even though Hurst's name was nowhere on the agenda.

Hurst's rant at an October meeting was captured on video. That video sparked outrage and internet threats of boycotts and protests. Condemnation of his comments by Waters and leaders in all three of the tourism giant's destination cities was quick, but it did little to quell the social media uproar.

Hurst's colleagues had declined — silently through a committee agenda vote last week — to seek to censure the veteran commissioner who runs a construction company and has won his tiny district handily for decades.

Hours before the meeting was to begin Monday, the Sevier County Sheriff's Office set up a protest area outside the courthouse to divide any groups rallying on opposing sides.

Dozens of deputies were posted outside and inside the building. Citizens were asked to walk through metal detectors.

Hundreds gathered for the meeting. Most wore red. Some wore blue in support, they said, of Hurst's right under the First Amendment to say whatever he chose, offensive or not.

"I'm not here to condemn or commend the comments made here last month," Steve Osborn would later say in his turn to speak. "I'm here to stand up for (Hurst's) right to say it."

Two men — one wearing sunglasses inside the meeting — came to heckle.

"Leviticus 13!" the pair shouted at one point, referring to a passage in the Bible.

Hurst was already inside, waiting in a nearby room before walking to his commission seat on a raised dais at the front of the room.

He never said a word.

Rant stirred up protest talk

Sevier County is one of the nation’s most popular travel destinations. Its economy and its job market rely heavily on the tourism industry.

The community is the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the nation's most visited national park. It's also home to dozens of tourist attractions, including Dollywood and restaurants owned by Paula Deen and Blake Shelton.

Just three years ago, Sevier County's landscape and its financial ledgers were devastated by deadly wildfires in Gatlinburg.

The county remained in recovery mode when Hurst, a trademark toothpick in his mouth, last month launched into a speech at a commission meeting packed with gun rights supporters.

He called former President Barack Obama a “thug,” said members of the Democratic Party “stand for killing” babies and lamented the loss of “rights” for white men. He used a homophobic slur to describe presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

'In the image of God'

Mayor Waters cast a nervous glance at the crowd inside the meeting room as he announced the meeting would start as commission meetings in this community of deep religious roots always do — with the Lord's Prayer.

But, he said, "only for those who wish to say it." He gave a similar "for those who wish to stand" proviso for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Everyone stood. Many could be heard reciting both. Waters smiled and gaveled the meeting to order. Commissioners dispensed with county business in 15 minutes. They planned it that way — leaving plenty of time for the public comment portion of the meeting.

Waters set out the rules: be civil, stick to a single topic and say what you want to say in three minutes. A countdown would scroll on projector screens.

Then, commissioners braced for the outrage.

What they got was love.

"Every single person here is made in the image of God — beloved children of God," pastor Robert Fox said when his turn to speak came. "I hold no ill feelings toward anyone."

Fox told the commissioners and the crowd about a couple in his church, partners, he said, for 26 years.

"I've never seen two men who exemplify Christian faith and Christian sweat," Fox said. "They show me the face of God."

Corkey Miller said in her speech that "none of us know exactly what (God's) image is. You don't think I believe in God because I'm talking (on behalf of) someone who's different. I do. Change is coming. You can embrace change or not."

One of the hecklers yelled, "That's what we're afraid of."

Miller responded, "Don't be afraid. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Angel Bradley said she came to the meeting with love, too, for Hurst and his free speech rights.

"Mr. Hurst, I want to thank you," she said.

Amy Williams thanked commissioners for supporting both the First Amendment and the Second. She had attended that October meeting in support of the gun rights measure up for a vote before Hurst's rant.

"Our First Amendment rights must be protected," she said. "The great equalizer is the ballot box. I support our local representation, and I'm proud to call Sevier County my home."

Waters thanked the crowd for its decorum as the meeting wound down less than two hours after it began.

"I appreciate each person that spoke today," he said. "No matter what your position, I appreciate y'all coming and sharing your comments tonight ... in a respectful manner."

As the meeting ended, dozens of red-wearing citizens rallied on one side of the makeshift protest zone outside. The two hecklers and two pals made up the counter-protest on the other side.

It ended within minutes — and without law enforcement intervention.