Nathan Tabor: Cyberstalking, Theft, and Extortion Cases

Nathan Tabor, the former chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party in North Carolina, faced criminal charges across three counties beginning in 2021, including cyberstalking, felony larceny, felony extortion, and drug possession. He resolved the cases by pleading no contest to three felonies in Brunswick County, while the cyberstalking charges in Forsyth and Catawba counties and the extortion charges were dismissed. Tabor denied all charges throughout the proceedings.¹

Who Nathan Tabor Is

Tabor lived in Kernersville, North Carolina, and built a public profile as a conservative commentator and author before entering party politics. He founded TheConservativeVoice.com, which at its peak drew more than 250,000 unique visitors a month, and his weekly columns and 60-second radio commentaries ran on hundreds of outlets and stations.² He served as chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party from roughly 2008 or 2009 through 2012, and during that time helped coordinate campaigns for judicial officials in the county. That prior role later shaped how his own criminal case in Forsyth was handled.³

By 2021, his personal life had also unraveled. His estranged wife filed for temporary custody of their daughter and alleged in a court complaint that Tabor had become addicted to drugs and was “mentally and emotionally abusive to the minor child.”⁴

The Cyberstalking Charges

In August 2021, Tabor was charged with misdemeanor cyberstalking in Forsyth County. The complaining witness was Daniel Munro Hawtrey Jr., senior pastor of Kerwin Baptist Church in Kernersville. Tabor was accused of calling the pastor a “liar and a thief” who embezzled money and of making crude sexual comments about Hawtrey and his wife.³

A separate cyberstalking charge was filed in Catawba County. Prosecutors there alleged Tabor sent threatening emails and texts to family members, including his mother-in-law Lisa Isenhour-Forsyth, between June and August 2021 in an effort to obtain more than $50,000.⁵ A Raw Story report placed the figure at more than $200,000.⁴

The Brunswick County Theft Charges

On October 7, 2021, Tabor was arrested in Ocean Isle Beach and charged with four counts of felony larceny of motor vehicle parts, felony larceny of a motor vehicle, felony larceny, felony breaking and entering, and misdemeanor injury to real property. The charges stemmed from catalytic converter thefts at locations including Seaside United Methodist Church, a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and two residences.⁶ He was also accused of conspiring to steal a golf cart valued at $5,000.³ He was held at the Brunswick County detention center on a $75,000 secured bond and released on October 14.

Extortion and Drug Charges

In December 2021, Tabor was charged with two counts of felony extortion for allegedly threatening Ocean Isle Beach Police Chief Ken Bellamy and Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram. Arrest warrants alleged Tabor threatened the officials “with the intent wrongfully to obtain immunity” by threatening to “release false information.”⁷ He was arrested on December 15, 2021, and held on a $500,000 bond.⁸ While held at the Brunswick County jail, he also faced drug possession charges involving marijuana and cocaine.

How the Cases Were Resolved

The Catawba County cyberstalking charge was dismissed in November 2021 after a prosecutor determined there was “insufficient evidence.” Tabor’s attorney, Patrick W. Keeley, said the dismissal illustrated the difference between “protected speech and what is considered criminal speech,” arguing that “a mere difference of opinion as to the politeness of speech does not amount to speech being criminal in nature.”⁵

In Brunswick County, Tabor reached a plea agreement. He pleaded no contest to three felonies: two counts of larceny of motor-vehicle parts and one count of possession of cocaine. Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow imposed suspended sentences of four to six months on each count. Tabor received two years of supervised probation on the larceny charges and one year on the cocaine charge, and was ordered to pay at least $2,100 in restitution. All remaining Brunswick County charges were dismissed, including the two felony extortion counts. The court also ordered Tabor to have no contact with Sheriff Ingram, Chief Bellamy, or the alleged victims in the other criminal cases.⁹

The Forsyth County cyberstalking case took a more procedurally complicated path. Because Tabor had previously helped coordinate campaigns for Forsyth County judicial officials, a district court judge was replaced by an outside judge to ensure impartiality, and an outside prosecutor, Mariah Patterson of the Davidson County District Attorney’s office, was assigned.³ After several continuances, the charge was dismissed with leave after Hawtrey’s attorney, Harvey W. Barbee Jr., told the court that his client “no longer wants to move with the prosecution of Mr. Tabor and wants to dismiss the cyberstalking charge.”¹⁰

1
Greensboro News and Record. Catawba Prosecutor Dismisses Cyberstalking Charge Against Former Forsyth GOP Chair Nathan Tabor
2
Google Books. The Beast on the East River
3
Winston-Salem Journal. Judge Outside Forsyth County to Hear Cyberstalking Case Involving Former GOP Chair Nathan Tabor
4
Raw Story. Nathan Tabor, Forsyth County Republican Party
5
Winston-Salem Journal. Catawba Prosecutor Dismisses Cyberstalking Charge Against Former Forsyth GOP Chair Nathan Tabor
6
StarNews Online. Former Forsyth County Republican Party Chairman Arrested in Brunswick
7
WWAY TV3. Warrant: Man Charged With Extortion for Making Threats to Brunswick County Sheriff, OIB Police Chief
8
High Point Enterprise. More Charges for Tabor
9
Winston-Salem Journal. Extortion Charges Dropped Against Ex-GOP Chair in Forsyth as Part of Plea Deal
10
High Point Enterprise. Charges Dropped