N.C. State Staff Member Accused of Proud Boys Membership, Online Harassment

North Carolina State University is investigating Chadwick Jason Seagraves, a staff member in the university’s technology support services department, after he was accused last week of being a member of the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group. Seagraves also allegedly helped distribute personal information of left-wing activists to promote harassment against them and is accused of “digitally harassing at least one student activist” through an anonymous Twitter account, according to Raw Story, a national online publication.

The allegations came to light after Seagraves was named in a lawsuit filed on Nov. 19 by Olivia Katbi Smith, co-chair of the Portland chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, who claims her personal information was released in a “data dump” of photos, addresses and phone numbers of apparent “anti-fascist and anarchist activists,” reported Willamette Week, a Portland, Ore.-based publication. Smith’s lawsuit claims Seagraves was a creator of the dump, Willamette Week reported.

The Raw Story article identified Seagraves as a speaker at a 2017 rally for the Proud Boys and said he interacted with an anonymous N.C. State student through a pseudonym on Twitter and added him to a list of “Proud AuntieFah Commies.”

N.C. State’s official Twitter account has responded to alumni and organizations that brought attention to the allegations against Seagraves and said that “the university has received multiple reports related to the online behavior of an employee and is currently investigating.” Some organizations on Twitter are calling for Seagraves’ immediate removal and stating that “people feel unsafe” due to the student information he may have access to as a staff member.

Mick Kulikowski, a spokesperson for the university, confirmed that N.C. State is reviewing the allegations and declined to provide more detail. Seagraves did not respond to a call to his university phone number.