The Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI) have forcefully denied what they call “baseless attacks” in two recent reports, now saying they are preparing a lawsuit against the “blogsite” that published the “blatantly false” material.
The Alabama Political Reporter last week alleged the federal government was investigating the PCI, however, their reporting based solely on anonymous sources has not been substantiated by any other outlet or published documentation. Alabama Political Reporter’s articles came in the form of a “news” story from Editor-in-chief Bill Britt and an opinion column by Josh Moon.
A PCI press release on Friday called the two stories “completely erroneous” and “untrue.”
For Immediate Release: Poarch Creek Indians take stand against the Alabama Political Reporter pic.twitter.com/aqlx98XCMR
— Poarch Creek Indians (@PoarchCreek) May 11, 2019
The press release also said that this was not the first time they had been “attacked” by the same blog.
However, this latest instance “went beyond posting sensational, error-filled, click bait to actively trying to sabotage the Tribe’s business dealings,” the press release advised, calling the stories “a step too far.”
PCI Chair and CEO Stephanie Bryan commented, “We cannot stand by and have our Tribe and our business being attacked by politically motivated interests. No company in America would stand for this, and we must protect our people, our employees and our reputation for conducting our businesses with the highest degree of integrity.”
“The Tribe is preparing a lawsuit against Britt, Moon and the Alabama Political Reporter and will no longer allow their baseless attacks on the Tribe’s success to go unanswered,” the release concluded.
An Alabama Political Reporter update on Britt’s story reads, “APR stands by its reporting and the sources cited in the story. Those sources provided documentation and other evidence to support their claims. At no time did APR ‘attack’ the tribe or its business interest or make any claim that PCI or any tribe member had violated the law.”
Yet, Moon’s article as of Monday at noon still explicitly accuses PCI members of “illegal” activity.
Alabama Political Reporter has not published any “documentation” or “other evidence.”
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
