Group involved in Burke County wiretapping dispute speaks out

KEYSVILLE, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A viral Facebook live is what has landed 35-year-old Jeremy Huffman behind bars and accused of wiretapping.

Huffman is now out on bail, but questions remain about why he was arrested and how he ultimately came to be charged with the crime.

According to reports, Huffman climbed a tree on his property and filmed a large gathering next door, with tents, lights and loud music.

This dispute between landowners has been well documented by the Burke County Sheriff’s Office for over two years.

The I-TEAM spoke with Jimmy Harris and Morris Williams Jr. about the arrest of Jeremy Huffman.

Jimmy Harris is the president of Father’s Heart of Georgia Inc. and owns the land next to Huffman. Morris Williams Jr. is the leader of Rebirth of a Nation and uses Harris land for events in Burke County.

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“Our goal is to be peaceful, we’re not just trying to interrupt the neighbors,” Williams said. “Then we look into a tree and see a man recording and start spouting all kinds of rhetoric on Facebook Live. All this spread and it went viral. Now we just come in as a terrorist group to take over the province, and all we tried to do was worship and camp,” Williams said.

Both Harris and Williams say this all stemmed from the Father’s Heart of Georgia’s attempt to purchase Huffman’s property. Police reports also state that this dispute started over the purchase of Huffman’s property.

“He was thinking about selling his property. I said, okay, so we all went to look at his property. He showed us everything,” Harris said.

Harris and Williams say Huffman’s real estate agent listed the property, which they say is public. They say the county was able to obtain property records showing that there were issues with inspections and permits during the purchasing process.

“We were no longer interested in the property. But because of what happened to the province, he wants to blame us when it really wasn’t us. It was the county looking at what was posted, whatever his real estate agent posted,” Harris said. “That’s when the shift happened.”

The first documented report is from October 2022, when Huffman called deputies to his home due to bullets ricocheting off trees in his backyard. according to an incident report.

Williams and Harris dispute that no bullets could have reached Huffman’s property based on the layout of the range. Harris says the group is shooting in the opposite direction of where the Huffman property is.

“We have so many trees and we have a berm, we have trees behind it. And then there are trees on our property before he gets to his property. What we are aiming for is still on our property,” Harris said.

The I-TEAM obtained body camera footage of almost every previous incident. Officers responded to both properties. Since 2022, there have been nearly a dozen times when deputies have been called to the scene for noise complaints.

That included Huffman playing loud music and the group making loud noises and shooting constantly. In a separate video sent to us by a neighbor, you can hear noise from the event in the middle of the day.

The Father’s Heart of Georgia Inc. says this is a private religious event where the group celebrates their annual holidays for eight days in October.

They say about 200 people attended this year, with many coming from out of town.

“We’re out there, we’re gathering people, we’ve got music, we’ve got food and we’re teaching them things about agriculture, things about vegetation, things about, you know, just family protection and things like that,” Williams said. “You don’t hear this all year round. It’s nothing like that. You may have a few Sundays where we can do that, but we have the right to do it.

911 calls and previous incidents show neighbors repeatedly complaining about noise coming from the property next to Huffman.

Harris and Williams say they’re usually on the property a few times to shoot guns and take care of the land outside of their October event.

“We come out there and work on the animals. There is no music, no, no microphones. Nothing, it’s purely about the animals. It’s about developing the land and dealing with the vegetation. That’s what we do. But when he sees us out there, he turns up the music. And he’ll just make all kinds of noise,” Williams said.

According to Sheriff Alfonzo Williams, they have found no connection between this group and organizations currently under investigation.

“It’s a farce to be labeled a militant group and all these things,” Harris said.

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They say they have one day of shooting scheduled during their event, which is usually followed by practice the next day. Harris says no automatic weapons are used on the property, despite 911 calls describing the sounds of automatic weapons being fired.

Williams also says this isn’t the only time they’ve been recorded by Huffman or others in the area.

‘I want someone to tell me if it’s okay. Neighborhood, country, wherever it is, so your neighbor can film your family all the time from their property and say whatever they want to say,” Williams said. “If it’s a private event, if it’s your house and your family, sit there and attend and say whatever you want. Does anyone think that’s a good thing to do? I think anyone would have a problem with that.”

The group says they will continue to alert the sheriff’s office and work to reduce the impact their event has on surrounding neighbors.

“We try to get even into next year every year,” Williams said. “We are going to do some things to ensure that there is no commotion, that nothing more can be said.”

The I-TEAM asked about the connection between Rebirth of a Nation and The Father’s Heart of GA, Inc. Harris tells us he met Williams through mutual friends.

Harris is not a member of Rebirth of a Nation and is an elder in the organization along with Williams.