Bizarre Phone Threat Casts Pall Over Veterans State House Rally
Ms. Combs told ALPolitics.com that she was disturbed by what she perceived as a blatant and serious threat, and immediately contacted Mr. Carico.
A bizarre phone call from someone presenting themselves as a member of Governor Ivey’s staff cast a pall over Tuesday’s Fall In—Let’s Be Heard rally. The rally, held to oppose SB67, occurred as scheduled, and was attended by between 120 and 150 people.
On Monday, February 24, Troy Carico (one of the rally’s organizers) spoke by phone with State House Security about a permit for the rally at approximately 12:00 pm. Mr. Carico reported to ALPolitics.com that the Security personnel were very cooperative and accommodating, and that the permit could easily be arranged Tuesday morning before the rally.
At around 3:00 pm on Monday, Ashlie Combs received a call from State House Security. Security told Ms. Combs that there were problems with the rally’s permit. Then, during this call, Ms. Combs reported that she heard “three beeps” and another voice interrupted the call. This new caller identified herself as “Denishia McCowry” (the spelling is uncertain, as this person did not spell her name). “McCowry” then told Ms. Combs that she was calling from the Governor’s office and that “We have State Troopers standing by to arrest and detain” rally participants. This was followed by a second set of “three beeps” and “McCowry” left the call.
Ms. Combs told ALPolitics.com that she was disturbed by what she perceived as a blatant and serious threat, and immediately contacted Mr. Carico.
Mr. Carico, a 22-year Army Veteran with experience in both military intelligence and counterintelligence, then contacted State House Security to discuss Ms. Comb’s call and the possible threat. The number of the phone used to call Ms. Combs—which did not change during “Denishia McCowry’s” interruption—was found to belong to a state-issued cell phone. Mr. Carico discussed the possiblity that the cell phone had been compromised. According to Mr. Carico, the Security person he spoke to was appropriately concerned about the threat and very cooperative with him.
Despite the apparent threat, the rally went on as scheduled, with numerous Veterans and civic leaders speaking against the SB67. No significant disturbances occurred during the rally.
One rally attendee told ALPolitics.com that they were aware of the threat, but they had spoken with their spouse about it, and “I believed Veterans paid a price for me and it was the least I could do for them. Then I just prayed I wouldn't be nervous!”
There is no name similar to “Denishia McCowry” listed as staff on the Governor’s web page. A web search for “Denishia McCowry, Alabama” yielded no results. As of this writing, the status of the investigation into the call breach and threat is unknown.
SB67 would restructure the State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA), removing the Board’s ability to hire and fire the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) Commissioner and transforming the SBVA into an “oversight” board. It would transfer the hiring and firing of the Commissioner to the Governor’s office and elevate the Commissioner to Cabinet-level status. SB67 was introduced by State Senator Andrew Jones, and is being sponsored in the House by State Rep. Ed Oliver. SB67 has passed the Senate, was reported out of the House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and could be voted on by the full House as early as next Tuesday, March 4th.
This is a developing story.
