The Mountain Patriots have not been allowed to meet at the Fannin County Senior Center, according to member Lane Bishop.
Bishop addressed the Fannin County Board of Commissioners regarding the issue during the public commentary portion of a regular meeting of the board Tuesday, November 10, stating, “I am very concerned about something. I drove by the Senior Citizen Center last week, and I noticed a meeting over there, the Republican Party. I belong to the Mountain Patriots, and we have been denied the right to meet over there, and I understand that some other groups have been allowed to meet over there. Gentleman, and Mr. Chairman, that’s wrong.”
Bishop asked the two post commissioners, Earl Johnson and Glenn Patterson, and Chairman Stan Helton to allow his group to continue to meet in the space. He said the Mountain Patriots had been meeting in there for approximately six or seven years.
“It’s wrong not to allow our group to meet there when you’re allowing other people to meet there,” he said.
While none of the commissioners responded to Bishop following his remarks during public commentary, Bishop said he asked Helton after the meeting if the group would be allowed to meet there, and Helton said no.
Helton confirmed that he told Bishop they would not be allowed to meet at the Senior Center. According to Helton, the reason for the denial is due to concerns the county has surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.