EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: Black Farmer Files Lawsuit After White Family Steals Land, Allegedly

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]update. Remember the farmer that we had on the program who had land taken allegedly and was evicted or moved off of his property. We talked to him because of that coverage. He now has an attorney.

[00:00:18]And here's the update. Let me remind you of the story. Here it is.

[00:00:21]>> Do you guys remember Derek? He was the kid that got his property, his farm stolen by this white family. The family's name was the Hardies, and Derek was really good friends with them through the church. They ended up buying this home together, and then the the lady who he was doing business with ended up transferring everything into Derek's name. Well, later on there was that went down and the family ended up moving into Derrick's house because he was trying to help them. Well, they ended up taking over his home and basically kicking him out of the house.

[00:00:58]But because the family had all these connections to the judge and the police and all these things, they ended up like taking his house. And you guys remember this plane crash that just happened in Covington, Georgia, right? You won't believe it if I told you, but it's right there. James and Janet Hardy are the couple who stole that boy's house. They were the couple that died on that plane after it took off.

[00:01:28]>> You cannot, as much as you don't want me to be a resident here, I am. You can't get over that. I am a resident. I am. I am a Morgan County resident and you cannot get over that.

[00:01:38]>> Let's just like go. I mean, this is this is my home and I this is my home. Hey everybody, I'm getting ready right now.

[00:01:45]I'm here at my home in Morgan County, Georgia that I have the deed to. That's my residence that I have a Supreme Court ruling to that my cars are registered that my license is to I think Lash, do you still have my license?

[00:01:56]>> No, I got back.

[00:01:57]>> Okay, so they you Okay, here we go. That my license are registered. And this officer is going to tell me that I don't live in my own home. We've we've been through this time and time again.

[00:02:06]>> Well, at this point, listen, I'm going to issue a warning, okay? And then we're going to have to have you vacate today.

[00:02:12]There has to be a court order to say that they're evicted from here before you can come back.

[00:02:16]>> So you're moving the residence. So you're moving me out of my home.

[00:02:18]>> They're the residents. They've been staying here daily.

[00:02:21]>> I've been I think I I don't have to.

[00:02:22]What law says I got to be in my sleep in this bed every night? What law? What law says I can't sleep? What law says I can't handle business in another city?

[00:02:29]>> Are you going to sign these?

[00:02:30]>> If I don't sign it, you're taking me to jail, right?

[00:02:33]>> If I don't sign this, you're taking >> sign refusal. You're still going to have to leave the property. And if you don't leave after that point, once I sign these all as a refusal, yes, we will.

[00:02:43]>> We have a major update. Put it up for mass.

[00:02:47]If you recall, Derek Williamson is the person in that video.

[00:02:58]He has now officially retained legal counsel. And the name is a familiar name. Attorney Walt Bernard has stepped in to lead the defense. Many of you remember Bernard from our previous coverage. In 2023, he was arrested in his own home and brought to court in shackles to settle a rent dispute involving his business. He alleged he was coerced into a settlement under the threat of continued jail time. Uh a battle he is still fighting today. So now you have a quote sweeping federal civil rights lawsuit that has been filed in the United States District Court of the Middle District of Georgia against Morgan County, Georgia. Multiple judges, sheriff's deputies, and private corporate entities alleging a coordinated campaign to unlawfully dispossess the young black entrepreneur from his $3.2 2 million farm and destroy his animal to animal related businesses.

[00:04:03]If you recall when we interviewed Mr. Williamson, he explained the matter thoroughly. He talked about his ministry utilizing um animals, farm animals in order to provide therapeutic healing for individuals.

[00:04:21]his love for the land and also the legalities or the protocol as to how he obtained the property. Okay, there's more. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Mr. Derek Williamson and his two companies, The Way Dynamic Animal Therapy Encounters, Inc. operating as the Ark and Paramount Wildlife Incorporated seeks in excess of 5 million in damages for constitutional violations including deprivation of property without due process, malicious prosecution, First Amendment retaliation, violation of the free exercise clause, and a conspiracy driven by racial animus.

[00:05:10]Now, for us to understand this case, uh, and I encourage everyone to go back and watch the, uh, interview he gave us at Indisputable because it was an interesting interplay of police officers or deputies seemingly acting as civil court enforcers.

[00:05:33]When a cop will tell you quickly, they enforce criminal matters, not civil, and there was no court order against Mr. Williamson that they were carrying out.

[00:05:46]However, they acted as if they were mediators of a civil dispute in the video that we have. There's more. Mr. Williamson purchased 40 acres or a 40 acre farm in a place called Newborn, Georgia.

[00:06:04]This was in June 2021 to operate the Ark, a faith-based animal therapy ministry and exhibition business.

[00:06:13]Additionally, Mr. Williamson purchased the farm to operate Paramont Wildlife, a nonprofit native wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary. The property was gifted to Mr. Williamson's ministry named after the biblical way which is in John 14:6 and Noah's ark which is found in Genesis 6-9.

[00:06:37]The lawsuit alleges that the defendant's destruction of the ministry also violated the free exercise clause of the first amendment. The 11th Circuit has repeatedly held that the ongoing deprivation of constitutional rights constitutes irreparable harm.

[00:06:54]Every day that Mr. Williamson is barred from his ministry's property and denied access to the animals through which he practices his faith constitutes an ongoing irreparable burden on his religious exercise.

[00:07:10]Furthermore, the ongoing deprivation of real property is inherently irreparable.

[00:07:17]Every day that plaintiffs are barred from their $ 1.4 million farm, the property is subject to waste, deterioration, and unauthorized use by third parties. So according to the suit, despite him holding clear legal title, this was uh later confirmed by Rockdale County Superior Court based on their ruling. Mr. Williamson was still forcibly removed from his own land. This was April 2022.

[00:07:56]Morgan County Chief Judge Connie Holt, who allegedly exceeded her authority, statutory authority, by using a quote good behavior bond hearing to effectively evict him. The lawsuit alleges that upon learning u Mr. Williams and a black man, owned the property, the judge, Judge Holt, expressed surprise that quote, "This black man owned all this land." end quote. Following the unlawful eviction, the complaint alleges that Mr. Williamson's former business partner, Nicole Canno, acting through her corporate entities, Wildlife Critter Circle of Life Rehabilitation Center, Inc. and Animals Onset, Inc. conspired with occupants to steal and sell numerous animals. According to the allegation, the defendants also stole specialized infrastructure belonging to Paramount Wildlife, including 8-foot privacy fencing, medical supplies, and veterary equipment, rendering the nonprofit unable to complete its state permitting process. The corporate defendants, which supply animals for Georgia's film and television industry, are named in the lawsuit under state reco conversion and civil theft claims. Here's the consequence. So, the Arks U three faith-based animal therapy ministry and USDA pending animal therapy exhibition business was destroyed. Paramount Wildlife's native animal sanctuary was rendered inoperable. Numerous animals were stolen according to the suit, sold or slaughtered by defendant according to the suit and corporate entities. And Mr. Williamson continues to be responsible to pay $2,44 monthly mortgage on a property that he cannot access.

[00:09:59]Once again, this is the lawsuit. The allegation is spelled out. There's a lot more. Remember this story was so extreme that individuals assume some people assume that something else must be happening. There has to be another issue. There has to be some uh paperwork we're not aware of. Well, remember Rockdale County, Rockdale County, which is basically in the metropolitan area of Atlanta. Rockdale County judge made a ruling that illustrated he clearly has the title. Okay, there's more more in the lawsuit. The lawsuit also details severe first amendment retaliation after Mr. Williamson took to social media to expose the corruption. The judge who is being accused of overstepping her authority, Judge Holt, filed a personal stalking TPO against Mr. Williamson.

[00:11:11]Superior Court Judge Steven A. Bradley granted the TPO, explicitly ordering the removal of social media post critical of the judge, a government employee.

[00:11:27]When Mr. Williamson attempted to return his uh to his property, he was arrested on a retaliatory obstruction charge that was ultimately completely 100% dismissed because of insufficient evidence.

[00:11:44]Now you have somebody who decided to utilize their voice which they have the constitutional right to do. Uh criticize the government. A judge is the government.

[00:11:58]That judge takes out a TPO. Another judge of a higher court grants the TPO.

[00:12:04]All of a sudden, Mr. Williamson gets arrested for obstruction.

[00:12:12]it gets dismissed because there's no evidence of obstruction.

[00:12:16]There's more. Uh to this day, Mr. Williamson remains barred from his property while continuing to remain responsible for the money, $2,44 a month. The lawsuit seeks immediate injunctive relief to restore his possession of the farm and accounting of all stolen animals and compensatory and punitive damages for the destruction of both businesses. Uh when Mr. Williamson was on the program, I inquired about um the injunctive order. He said very clearly that the individuals involved are basically in a conspiracy according to him that he can't get injunctive relief because the judges are coordinating. He made these allegations.

[00:13:04]Uh and also many of the attorneys according to the record that he provided they were let's just say hesitant to get involved in that good old boy system of Morgan County. There's more. The relief that Mr. Williamson is seeking com uh compensatory damages award compensatory damages to plaintiffs in an amount to be determined at trial for no less than Well, there you have it. 3 million for the loss of property, destruction of business, loss of animals, loss of income, mortgage payments, physical injury, and severe emotional distress. Punitive damages. That means punishment. Award punitive damages against the individual defendants and their individ in their individual capacities in the amount to be determined at trial, but no less than $5 million to punish them for their malicious, willful, and reckless disregard for plaintiffs constitutional rights and to deter similar conduct in the future. And then you have something called declaratory relief. um declaratory relief, injunctive relief, attorney fees and cost, civil theft damages, pre and post judgment interest, other relief grant such other and further relief as the court deems just and proper. It's a thorough suit. It's a thorough suit and it's one of those lawsuits where you can clearly see council is unafraid of connecting the dots. I know many attorneys would have said, "No, let's not name the judge. Let's not include the issue about the TPO. It's not material to the but it is. It's all material because it speaks to a potential conspiracy." And if that's the claim, you have to make the claim plain.

[00:14:59]And that's what this lawsuit is doing based on the allegation. Now, if you would like to assist support Derek's legal fees and animal sanctuary, he's hosting a fundraiser on May 23rd in Lake Verner, Georgia. All right, you have the information there. Make sure you take that information, provide what help you can. We are looking forward to having it back on the program to do an exclusive interview update of this story.

[00:15:33]Hell of a