SALISBURY — A Forsyth County man who has challenged other law enforcement agencies in the past regarding his right to film public places was recently charged by Rowan County authorities and says his 1st Amendment rights were violated.

Richard “Rick” Goins, 52, was charged with misdemeanor resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer. According to an April 12 arrest warrant, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Detective Patrick Schmeltzer asked Goins for identification and Goins refused to produce it.

The warrant says Schmeltzer was “discharging and attempting to discharge a duty of his office by investigating a suspicious person.”

Goins and his brother, Joseph Lee Goins, were standing near West Liberty and North Main streets with cameras in hand. According to Rick Goins, they had filmed earlier in the day at various Rowan County locations, including the Hefner VA Medical Center, Salisbury Police Department lobby, and murals on several downtown buildings.

Schmeltzer and Deputy Cody Trexler were in an unmarked vehicle when they noticed the two men filming. Schmeltzer demanded that Goins produce identification, according to Goins.

“I said, ‘For what?’ ” Goins said he asked the detective.

Goins said Schmeltzer told him to show ID or he’d go to jail.

Goins asked whether he was being arrested and he was told no, but that he was being detained. Soon after, Goins said when he asked why he was being arrested, Schmeltzer did not reply but instead told Trexler to arrest him.

Goins said he didn’t find out what he’d been charged with until he arrived at the Rowan County Magistrate’s Office.

He said Schmeltzer asked him if he is a sovereign citizen.

Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in the country, they are separate or “sovereign” from the United States.

Goins said he is not a sovereign citizen. Goins told the Post he is U.S. citizen and a Marine Corps veteran.

While he was being arrested, Goins said, he gave his camera to his brother and told him to film the exchange.

According to both Lee and Rick Goins, the detective ordered that Lee not film the arrest.

“I didn’t know turning on a camera was against the law,” Goins said.

Goins says he was conducting a 1st Amendment “audit” in which he records buildings and, once law officers are called, he then records the exchange, usually refusing to provide his name or identification.

He did a similar audit five months ago at an elementary school.

Goins said before the encounter with Schmeltzer and Trexler, he had chatted with a Salisbury police officer about filming these types of videos for YouTube.

Goins spent 65 hours in the county jail, he says, without his medication for high blood pressure and diabetes.

“I didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong,” he said.

Goins said a supervisor also arrived yelled across the parking lot that the arrest was valid and that the officers could continue.

Goins said he tried to find out the names of the Salisbury police officer he chatted with and the Sheriff’s Office supervisor to no avail.

He said if his rights could be violated, other people’s rights could have been violated by local law enforcement as well.

Detective Schmeltzer

According to a Sheriff’s Office report, Schmeltzer said Goins looked suspicious because he believed Goins was filming in a parking lot where judges and members of the district attorney’s staff park their vehicles.

“It should be noted that there are several high-profile cases getting ready to begin here in Rowan County, and I perceived the man’s actions as a safety and security threat to all court staff and did not know his true intentions,” a Sheriff’s Office report said.

The detective, who was said to have been in plain clothes, said he identified himself and asked to see an ID.

Goins asked if he’d broken a law.

Schmeltzer said in his report that he told Goins no but that he was concerned about him recording the vehicles. After Schmeltzer told Goins he was being detained, according to the report, Goins said he was in a public place and was free to record and free to travel about the land.

Schmeltzer said Goins’ answer made him wonder if he was a sovereign citizen because that was a phrase used by members of that group, the report said.

Schmeltzer said he asked for an ID again and Goins refused. Goins was arrested.

According to the report, Lee Goins gave the detective his driver’s license and when his brother was arrested, he spoke with Trexler while Rick Goins was taken to the magistrate’s office.

The report said Lee Goins told Trexler his brother had a YouTube channel and filmed different law enforcement officers in order to get them to confront him.

“It was also discovered that Richard Goins is validated as a sovereign citizen in Forsyth County,” the report said.

“Richard Goins has had several encounters with several different law enforcement agencies,” the report said.

Goins was issued a $2,500 secure bond and given an April 30 court date for a first appearance. The case was continued to May 30 and again to July 5. Salisbury attorney Chad Doomy was appointed to represent Goins.

County attorney

County Attorney Jay Dees said Monday he is familiar with Goins, who was even filming county offices while the attorney responded to the Post for comment.

“Anyone filming the parking areas and vehicles of our law enforcement personnel, including the vehicles of our elected district attorney and her staff as well as judges in our courts, should be of concern to everyone. We ask our citizens to be alert to suspicious activity and appreciate anyone who takes the time to report the same,” Dees said.

He said Goins was not arrested for filming but for misdemeanor resisting an officer.

“It is for the court to determine at this point whether the charge is supported by facts relating to his interaction with law enforcement,” Dees said.

Dees said he spoke with Goins a few weeks ago when Goins requested the salary and personnel information of Schmeltzer and Trexler.

Dees said he told Goins all personnel information is subject to public records disclosure and is available on the county website for all employees, including deputies.

Goins says his Freedom of Information Act request for salary and personnel information including badge numbers has not been fulfilled. He said he has not received a response from Dees since mailing him a letter May 30.

Goins said he filed a complaint on May 30 with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office with no response.

Dees said that whether it is illegal for a law officer to demand that Goins provide his name and identification is the central issue for the courts to consider. He declined to comment on that issue.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.