GOP issues final report on Hunter Hill

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – A committee appointed by the Forsyth County Republican Party to investigate a list of complaints against former Chairman Hunter Hill issued a “final report” Friday that found “no wrongdoing that rises to the level of reprimand, censure or official response warranted by the FCRP.”

The report states the committee investigated only two complaints: Inappropriate sexual behavior/sexual harassment by Hill directed at Shera Hastings;  Failure to follow proper procedures including, but not limited to, Roberts Rules of Order in conducting official business as Chairman of the FCRP made by Julie Hill, no relation to the former chairman.

The committee did not investigate the most serious complaint regarding the former chairman’s use of unauthorized Republican Party funds in writing a check to his mother. The report claims “a criminal investigation by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office was dismissed without any criminal findings.”

Hill issued a prepared statement Tuesday: “I will be taking a step back from the local GOP as I refuse to be the continued subject of malicious slander and bullying tactics. I have volunteered more time to the conservative cause than anything else in my life and a handful of personal agendas will not stop me from remaining a true and faithful conservative. It’s time we fix our gaze onto the horizon and get ready for a huge Republican win in 2022.”

The report included a recommendation that the Forsyth County Republican Party and Georgia Republican Party amend their rules to include a process for “County Committee and Its Officers and Members to formally file complaints of harassment (sexual or otherwise) or other wrong doings.”

It also issued a stern warning to whistleblowers who fail to follow that process “but resort to gossip, social media, emails, and other methods to level accusations or complaints about FCRP leadership or members,” which would be a violation of members’ First Amendment rights.

The investigation has created a bitter division within the Forsyth County Republican Party between those who supported Hill and those who did not. The organization has not met for more than two months.