Fort White Deals With Facebook Keyboard Warriors: The Town's Verdict Took a While
July 25, 2025 10:15 am | 5 min read
Mayor George Jacob Thomas reviews the evening's agenda.
(Columbia County Observer photo)
FORT WHITE, FL – Critical Facebook posts had Fort White Town Councilman Lonnie Harrell unhappy. He responded with what he called a “Message From Your Fort White Town Council.” He wanted to set the record straight. He wanted Council support. On Monday evening, the Town Council had other ideas.
Fort White played to another packed house on Monday
evening. (Columbia County Observer photo)
The Town Clerk, or somebody, characterized Councilman Harrell’s missive as: “Collective letter false narrative.”
The Mayor and other Council members said ignore it. After eighteen minutes of discussion and blurts (speaking without being recognized), Mayor Thomas summed up the debate after the letter was tossed, “I think we’re supposed to soar with the eagles.”
Background
For years, the Collective, a food truck park and garden on U.S. 27 in Fort White, has been one of the only places in Town where one can eat out. The Collective has also been a thorn in the side of the Town. The Town and the Collective have been in constant conflict.
Even after a settlement between the Town and the Collective allowing it to clean up its code violations, the Town needed a letter from the Town Attorney to the Collective, reminding the business owners to abide by the agreement.
When Councilman Harrell brought up the issues with the Collective and its non-compliance, the Collective responded by attacking him and the Town on Facebook.
Councilman Harrell took exception, authored his missive, "A Message From Your Fort White Town Council," had the Town Clerk add it to the agenda, and sought a buy-in from the rest of the Council.
The Town Council Wasn’t Buying In
On Monday evening (July 21), during the ministerial task of approving or modifying the evening’s agenda, Councilwoman Monica Merricks wasted no time informing the Council of her distaste for the acceptance of the “Message From Your Fort White Town Council.”
Councilwoman Monica Merricks wasted no time in showing
her displeasure of taking on the Town's Facebook
warriors.
Councilwoman Merricks, interrupting the Mayor, jumped in and said she wanted to make a motion “if possible” to strike Mr. Harrell’s letter from the agenda, telling the Council, “I don't understand why that's a thing that we waste citizens' and taxpayers' money to just argue a false narrative.”
Mr. Harrell responded, "That's why it's on the agenda for the Council to (Ms. Merricks cuts him off).
Councilwoman Merricks: “Yeah, and I made a motion to strike it from the agenda. So, you decide to either continue arguing with them or whatever, but I think it's a waste of citizens’ and taxpayers' money to pay us to sit up here and argue with them about a Facebook post.”
Mayor Thomas added, “Yeah, I would agree. Like, if it was something maybe for action, but I mean, if we're here to address a Facebook post.”
Ms. Merricks continued, “Arguing the about a Facebook post and a false narrative, people, no matter what we say or whatever, people are going to have their assumptions, their own truths, their own beliefs, and us getting tied up and wasting time, we waste enough time on food and stuff, and we have so many other fish to fry. And I just think that that is like not necessary.”
There was no second for Ms. Merricks' motion to remove Mr. Harrell's false narrative missive from the agenda.
The false narrative (responding to Facebook)
Councilman Lonnie Harrell reads his statement into the
record. (Columbia County Observer photo)
An hour passed, and Councilman Harrell's agenda item came up.
Councilman Harrell said, “I move for the adoption by the Council of the following statement by the Fort White Town Council, to be placed on the town's website, public bulletin boards for a period of 30 days.”
Ms. Merricks asked, “You want it to be from the Town of Fort White Council?”
Mr. Harrell read his letter into the record. The letter with the attached FB posts is here.
When he was through, Mayor Thomas asked the Council for comments.
Ms. Merricks said, "Are we going to get into the common practice of addressing each Facebook post of each citizen with a rebuttal from the Town Council. If you don't like what people say, deactivate social media. We can't get into the practice of going back and forth with citizens on what they believe is the truth and what we believe is the truth. It's just senseless. I don't want my name on it, nowhere.”
The usual procedure during council debate is the chairman (the Mayor) gives everyone the opportunity to speak and then speaks last). Mayor Thomas couldn't hold it in and had to talk. He runs the meetings – no one objected – he spoke.
The Mayor told the Council, “If there's a reason we aren't respected by the residents, it’s because of our own actions, and they look to us to be professional… I honestly am astounded that we are elected representatives and we're using town time to talk about Facebook.”
He added, “It's inappropriate to use a town official government platform, platform information board, to rebut a Facebook post.”
Mr. Harrell tried to make his case and said Town attorney Michael Pope said there were “no legal issues” addressing issues “that were inaccurate information posted publicly and intentionally about the Town’s action,” adding, “I think it's important to set the record straight, because not only did they criticize me individually, they criticized the entire council and gave false information on Facebook.”
Ms. Merricks jumped in (once again not being recognized to speak), “They didn't criticize me. So don't, don't include me into the wrong part of the Council.”
Mr. Harrell told Ms. Merricks, “I’m not finished.”
The Collective's relationship with the Town has been a rocky one. Mr. Harrell highlighted various issues that the Collective had with the Town and noted that the Collective had provided "intentionally misleading information." He concluded, "I believe that Council making a statement that we did not do these things that they accuse us of, and invite people to call us for the truth.”
Ms. Merricks said she thought “every citizen has common sense” and they “can look at the meetings and see what the truth is. That’s why they’re recorded.”
A little while later, Ms. Merricks continued, “It's a waste of time. I'm so sick of sitting up here fighting with the Collective when we got so much other stuff to get down to business about.”
Councilman Bill Koon makes a point. Waiting to be
recognized by the Mayor is not one of his strong points.
Councilman Bill Koon, the longest sitting member of the Council, jumped in, "As far as Facebook goes, the citizens are just waiting for somebody to make a comment about the Council so they can smash them.
The Council went back and forth for another ten minutes.
Councilwoman Terry said, "People are going to talk regardless. People are going to post regardless."
It was pointed out that in the past, Councilwoman Terry had been a Facebook keyboard warrior.
There was more conversation – parliamentary procedure was out the window. The conversation went on so long that Attorney Pope forgot the motion and asked Mr. Harrell to repeat it. He did.
There was no second. There would be no Facebook rebuttal in Fort White.
But that didn’t finish it.
Councilwoman Terry makes a point after jumping in
without being recognized.
There was more conversation and crosstalk. Councilwoman Terry, who has major issues following parliamentary procedure, a county-wide problem, just began talking, “I don’t know what’s going on.” She wasn’t the only one. She had more comments to make and made them.
The Mayor asked Ms. Terry if she was done. She was.
Epilogue
Mayor Thomas had the last word, “We lead by example. I think we're supposed to soar with the eagles. Whatever, I'm one person.”