Fallout from Trump rally ensnares musician, Bluffton council member in local drama
The tentacles of a national debate surrounding last week’s deadly insurrection in Washington, D.C., have reached Beaufort County, entangling both a local musician who attended the rally and a Bluffton town councilwoman who posted a comment to social media that encouraged pressure be applied to a business to no longer book him.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. Five people, including one Capitol police officer, died. The siege has since fueled national discussions about what constitutes free speech, incitement of violence and the status of American democracy.
On social media, the chasm is the most visible. Local Facebook groups have weaponized, criticizing both those who support Trump and people vehemently against him. Some residents have called for punishments against those who attended last week’s protest or supported it in some way. Others argue that sharing one’s own political beliefs should not affect their ability to make a living.
Among several thousand people who attended Wednesday’s pro-Trump protest in Washington was Bluffton musician Whitley Deputy and his brother, Savannah-based musician Zach Deputy. Whitley Deputy has come under fire in recent months for his involvement with local anti-mask groups, online posts sharing divisive theories and a viral video where he confronts a local gas station employee when told to wear a mask.
A picture of the two brothers at the protest, with Zach donning a red “Make American Great Again” hat, has been widely shared and criticized online. Since the picture began circulating last week, several people have called for Whitley to be banned from performing at local restaurants in Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island.
Whitley Deputy said that although the photo has caused him to lose wages due to backlash online, he doesn’t regret posting it.
“It’s sad that they have chosen to take part in cancel culture because someone has a certain political viewpoint,” he said, “that they would allow people to successfully attack someone’s livelihood.”
Deputy acknowledged he attended Wednesday’s protest and “walked to the Capitol building afterward,” but said he did not storm the Capitol. In a Saturday Facebook post, Deputy said the people who stormed the building were “Antifa and BLM members and a handful of stupid Trump supporters that took the bait” — a claim that fact checkers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have refuted.
“Whoever goes to jail for breaking in (even though the cops let them) I don’t feel sorry for them at all,” the post said. “It was a stupid thing to do. All parties involved are guilty. It was all captured on video. If I had been in there you would have seen it. Don’t believe the lies.”
In several other posts, Deputy claims that some restaurants will no longer book him as a performer due to his political beliefs. He said he used to perform about five to six times a week, and now he’s down to one. He would not say where he’s still performing.
But at least one Hilton Head restaurant owner says there’s more to the story than Deputy getting “fired.”
Tim Singleton, the owner of Ruby Lee’s South on Hilton Head, said he and Deputy agreed that he would “take a break” from performing at the restaurant for a month until “this calms down.”
Singleton said he stood by Deputy after the gas station video went viral, but told him if it happened again, they would have to separate temporarily.
“He’s totally entitled to his opinion,” he said. “But not when his behavior affects my business.”
Ruby Lee’s can’t afford boycotts over, or calls in support of, Deputy’s behavior, he said. He loves Deputy’s music but said his beliefs were causing drama at the restaurant, which is a “place for all people.”
“I’m not getting into that political strife that our country, our state and now Bluffton is in,” he said. “They fired him in Bluffton, and I supported him and got crushed for it by people that hate his stance and his beliefs.”
Due to the gas station video, Deputy said he’s been “fired” from multiple other local places, including Calhoun Street Tavern in Bluffton and Marriott Surfwatch on Hilton Head. The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette have reached out to both businesses for confirmation.
“I don’t have very many gigs left,” he said. “I got fired from a lot of places over this past year starting with my stance on the mask issue.”
In another photo widely shared online, Bluffton Town Council member Bridgette Frazier appears to encourage people to ask Ruby Lee’s to stop allowing Deputy to perform — though the musician is not mentioned by name.
“We should all be calling Ruby Lee’s and asking they remove him from their performers list,” the comment said.
Frazier quickly became a target herself, with petitions calling for her resignation or removal from office and complaints being filed with Bluffton’s mayor.
Two online petitions have since circulated, calling for Frazier’s resignation or removal from office due to “abuse of power and inciting violence.” One petition, which is now closed, had 43 signatures. Another is an online Google Document.
The petitions reference another screenshot where a Facebook user comments “I’m home and doing knock outs for $50.”
In the screenshot, Frazier responds, “You and your buddy Oscar James can do a tag team. My money’s on ya’ll.”
Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka, in a Monday evening news release, said she received the petition and several emails about Frazier. She said she had “no power or jurisdiction to remove another Council member. Elected officials answer to their constituents.”
“I do ask all residents, fellow Town Council members and staff members to remember each of us has to be mindful to work together to be a solution-maker, not further divide us at this delicate time in America’s and our community’s history,” the release said.
Frazier, who said her comment in the first screenshot was on the photo of the Deputy brothers at the protest, said her words in the second screenshot were taken out of context. She said the “tag team” comment was not referring to Deputy, but to a person who was threatening her in a private Facebook message.
She said her comment about Ruby Lee’s was in response to people who were calling for a boycott of the restaurant for booking Deputy — though Frazier declined to mention him by name.
“To be dragged into this, whatever is going on, is a sad attempt of a few individuals to keep some relevancy and maintain a level of divisiveness that we’ve seen on a national level,” she said, “and I’m refusing to subscribe to that.”
As for whether she thinks businesses should distance themselves from people who were at last week’s rally, Frazier said it’s “the decision of the owners of those establishments.” She and Singleton said they never spoke about canceling Deputy’s gigs.
“The freedom of speech and freedom to do whatever also comes with consequences,” she said. “People always have the right to protest for causes and issues; however, when it comes to American democracy, what exactly is the protest?”
Frazier said she doesn’t “subscribe to any protest that would lead to such violence or lead to the death of a law enforcement officer.”
She said she’s always “respected and loved” that local politics in Bluffton have been “bipartisan in nature.” She said local leaders should “denounce what is happening.”
“Anyone who gives any justification or tries to retract from the gravity of what is happening is asserting, in effect, they don’t value what an American is,” she said.
In a news release, following the publication of this story, Frazier said she “will always stand up for the issues of human decency and social justice for all.”
“Though we may differ in some instances, we should always strive to build and create One Bluffton, a community which works for everyone.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 4:45 AM.
