The King’s Men Return: From 1775 to 2025

It’s almost 11 pm as I start writing this on Wednesday, November 19, and I am sitting in my living room in Wake Forest, the lights dimmed, watching the first episode of the new Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution. On the screen, the year is 1775. I see farmers and shopkeepers realizing that the government they once looked to for protection has become their jailer.

My family also ties into the resistance to tyranny through my Grandpa Harold Moag Jr.’s line (via his mother, Edna Campbell Moag), the Campbells fought in the brutal “Civil War” of the South Carolina backcountry and saw firsthand the devastation of occupying forces turning neighbor against neighbor. Their efforts in securing victory at Kings Mountain were heralded by Thomas Jefferson, who called it “The turn of the tide of success.” The battle was the first major Patriot victory after the British invasion of Charleston, SC, in May 1780. This commitment continues with Grandpa Harold, who will be 100 in July. He served in the 10th Army in the Pacific during WWII, fighting and defeating fascism.

Finally, my paternal ancestors, the Bakers and Harrises of Bute County (modern-day Franklin County), represented the Organizers—the civic backbone of the rebellion. The residents of Bute County were very much opposed to British rule. This was evident early on; when Governor William Tryon called for troops to counter the Regulator Movement in 1768, his orders were ignored by the Bute County militia. Indeed, in the 1770s, it was famously claimed that “There were no Tories in Bute”. Samuel Harris, a local official and militia officer, was a member of the Bute County “Committee of Safety,” which served as the provisional government that replaced the Crown’s authority at the local level. After the Provincial Congress of 1775 and 1776, a proposal to divide Bute County was put forth. After more than two years of discussion, Bute County was divided on January 20, 1779, generally along the Shocco Creek, creating Warren County in the north and Franklin County to the south.

The Burtons, Campbells, Bakers, and Harrises were involved not only in the fighting but also in the subsequent statecraft that secured our rights, forging the very Constitution and Bill of Rights meant to protect us from the tyrannies we are witnessing today.

They fought to ensure that a “Standing Army” would never again police the American people. Yet today, under the guise of “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” that is precisely what is happening. We are witnessing a massive surge in federal enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents—personnel trained for the border, not the suburbs—to conduct “saturation patrols” in the interior of North Carolina. They are here because our local Sheriffs (Garry McFadden in Mecklenburg and Willie Rowe in Wake) refused to honor federal detainers without judicial warrants.

The federal government, disliking the voters’ choice, has sent in a federal police force to bring “resistant” counties to heel. In 1774, the British sent General Thomas Gage to Boston to enforce the “Intolerable Acts” and crush local governance. Today, we have Commander Gregory Bovino.

Bovino, the Sector Chief leading this operation, led “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago. There, he became notorious for treating protesters like “violent rioters,” deploying tear gas in residential neighborhoods, and encouraging officers to “go hard” against civilians. He is now applying those same tactics to North Carolina. Bovino’s use of high-visibility tactical teams and social media posturing is not standard law enforcement; it is performative state violence. It is a PSYOPS campaign designed to signal that the state can enter your community, disrupt your economy, and seize your neighbors at will. By conducting “collateral arrests”—stopping everyone in a vehicle or worksite to check papers—Bovino has resurrected the Writ of Assistance: the “general warrant” that allowed the King’s men to search anyone, anywhere, without cause. The Fourth Amendment was written specifically to put an end to this practice, yet here we are, watching it unfold on the evening news.

And just as General Gage served King George III, Commander Bovino serves a modern King George in Donald Trump. This isn’t just about federal agents; it’s about the systems and technologies that empower unchecked authority. Many towns, including Wake Forest, ironically for “safety and security,” are embracing tools like FLOCK’s Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), creating a for-profit mass surveillance system accessible to agencies and organizations you disapprove of and did not vote for.

This brings me to the private cemetery in Franklin County, where my Baker and Harris ancestors rest. We maintain this land ourselves. We clear the briars and scrub the moss off the headstones of men who fought in the Revolution, the Civil War, and the World Wars. My ancestors overthrew a King and defeated fascism in the 20th century. There is a profound irony in the fact that many people shouting about “1776” today are cheering for “Operation Charlotte’s Web.” You cannot claim the heritage of the Revolution while acting like a Tory.

For me to support a tyrant at home would be to spit on the graves of those who went before me. They fought to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

Every mayor and town council from Murphy to Manteo should be releasing statements condemning this activity. Silence on their part is approval of the tyranny rampaging through hill and dale.

Tom Baker IV

Tom Baker IV is the publisher of Wake Forest Matters, Wake Forest’s only independent local newsroom. A Wake Forest native, Navy veteran, and intelligence professional, Tom launched Wake Forest Matters to bring serious accountability journalism to his hometown. Tips and story ideas: publisher@wakeforestmatters.com