A Wakulla County commissioner, a sheriff's deputy and a woman were arrested last week following a four-month investigation into allegations they tried to out a vocal but anonymous critic but bungled it in a bizarre case of mistaken identity.
Wakulla County Commissioner Mike Kemp, who lost his re-election bid last month, Wakulla County Sheriff's Office Deputy Donald Newsome and Rebecca Whaley were arrested Friday for allegedly working together to unmask the identity of a well-known but anonymous online critic of Kemp.
All three were booked into the Wakulla County Jail on warrants signed by Circuit Judge J. Layne Smith. The were released shortly thereafter on their own recognizance under instructions from Smith.
Kemp, 53, is facing charges of using personal identification via public record to harass and witness tampering. Newsome, 54, is facing a charge of accessing a computer device exceeding authority. Whaley, 65, also is facing a charge of using personal information via public record to harass.
The Sheriff's Office placed Newsome on indefinite leave pending the outcome of the prosecution. Kemp, himself a retired Wakulla County Sheriff's Office major, denied wrongdoing in an article published Tuesday in the Wakulla News.
"All I can say at this time is that I didn't break any laws, and my attorney will be issuing a statement. I can't discuss the case at this time, but everything will come out and be presented to the public," Kemp said. He added, "I love this county. I've busted my ass for this county. And I'll be glad when this is over."
But investigators with the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office say Kemp illegally enlisted Newsome and Whaley, a political supporter and longtime family friend, to out his critic. Among the volumes of evidence are incriminating text messages between Kemp and Whaley and dash-cam video of Kemp driving by the victim's house as he spoke with an investigator.
What happened
The investigation began in May after the victim had his personal voter registration information posted online "with the intent to harass him after he was mistakenly identified as another person who regularly posted inflammatory opinions and comments online under the pseudonym ‘Thunder Lightening,'" according to WCSO documents.
“Thunder Lightening” is a well-established, anonymous Facebook account that posts opinions and statements, typically opposing those of Kemp and Whaley, who for years ran a “Wakulla Citizens" page on Facebook.
On March 28, Newsome responded to a traffic incident involving the victim after a white box truck ran him off the road. Two days later, Thunder Lightening posted a photo online of an entirely different white pickup truck that he said had almost hit his wife in a grocery store parking lot.
Kemp, hoping it would lead to Thunder Lightening's identity, asked Newsome to get information about the person involved in an incident involving a white truck. Newsome thought he was talking about the earlier incident because he had worked it himself, said WCSO Col. Chuck Whaley in a Wednesday interview with the Democrat and other reporters. Whaley noted that he may be distant kin to Rebecca Whaley, who shares his last name, but that he doesn't personally know her.
"The victim is an innocent guy," Whaley said. "The victim was mistakenly identified as being Thunder Lightening but he actually was not."
About a month later, Kemp's colleague used a subscription service named WebElect — which is used by candidates running for public office to identify voters for canvassing and mailer purposes — to get a printout of the victim's name, date of birth, mailing address, vote ID number and party affiliation.
"Becky Whaley sent an iMessage to Mike Kemp which read, 'Tell me that Thunder guy's real name about to bust him out,'" documents say.
Kemp responded with the printout which Whaley then posted to Facebook saying: "Introducing Thunder Lightening to you all from public records, registered to vote in 2022. According to the records and data, it shows he's never voted! ... Show your face and own your truth. You still have time to register to run for office!"
The post was taken down a day later after the victim's wife reached out to Whaley, and the victim filed their complaint.
On the day deputies went to interview the victim, Newsome searched in WCSO's case management system to access information about the victim and called Kemp.
Kemp's truck was captured on the deputy's body camera as he drove past the victim's house while the report was being filed.
Assistant State Attorney Andrew Deenan said he expects the defendants to have their first court appearances on Oct. 9 or 10. He added that his office worked with the Sheriff’s Office on the case.
“We reviewed the case ... and consulted on what evidence to gather and approved prosecution before it went to the court for probable cause review,” Deenan said.
According to his online biography on the Wakulla County Commission's website, Kemp served in the Florida Army National Guard and spent 28 years with the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office before retiring in 2018. He was first elected to the Wakulla County Commission District 3 seat in 2020 in a three-person race that included Valerie Russell. He was defeated by Russell in the Aug. 20 primary.
Kemp's term ends in mid-November. A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis did not immediately respond to an email asking whether he would be suspended from office because of the arrest.
Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached atebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X:@elenabarreraaa.
