CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – FOLLOWING initial investigations of a low-flying drone over the residence of Deputy Premier Hon. Mark Brantley, a US citizen was taken into police custody for questioning into the matter.
According to a police communiqué on Tuesday (Dec. 5), officers are investigating a report made by Sharon Brantley, wife of Mark Brantley, that an unmanned drone was spotted hovering feet away over their family home in Montpelier.
As a result, police began their investigation and a US citizen, Matthew MacMillan, was held for questioning on Monday (Dec. 4) regarding the incident and was subsequently released without any charges later that day.
SKNVibes understands that MacMillan, who is the President of BuzzMaker, a US-based political consulting firm that specialises in eCampaign Management, Online Advertising and International Campaigns, was on Monday morning held by police at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport as he was about to leave the Federation.
This publication learned that he was working with the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) on its campaign for the December 18 Nevis Island Assembly Elections.
The communiqué stated that the police would continue to take seriously all reports of harassment and threats of harassment made by citizens and residents of Nevis, and that they are therefore asking the public and, especially operators of drones, to act responsibly so that the safety of all citizens and residents is maintained.
In an interview with WINN FM’s LK Hewlett, Brantley is of the view that the incident was a political operation.
“What we are really concerned by it, we don’t feel that anybody’s personal space, their home where clearly they live with their family should be violated in this way. And my wife is a very strong woman. The strength of her was demonstrated by the fact that she was not intimidated and she in fact followed in the direction of this drone and was able to see and bring to the attention of the police, individuals whom we have every reason to believe were involved with this drone being over our home.
“And the fact that whoever it was that were involved in this effort began to hide and try to engage in subterfuge and then try to leave the island, suggests to me that there was something sinister afoot. And so we wait to see what it is this footage they were gathering is all about, we wait to see what they were trying to do, but as I said I do not know at this point. They may well have drone footage of inside my very bedroom, inside my wife’s bathroom. I have no idea, because I do not know what they were doing there flying so very low that my wife could look up and see them right above her head. I don’t believe that anybody would like their personal space and their privacy invaded in that way.”
Brantley, who recently took over leadership of the ruling Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) emphatically stated that his wife is not within the political arena and whosoever was involved in the drone incident had crossed the line..
“I am the politician, not my wife. Indeed she has stayed very far away from the political activity; and to go to my home where my wife and my children live, I believe is crossing a very dangerous line.”
When asked if he clearly thought there was a political motivation behind the incident and if it were an indication where politics is heading in the Federation, Brantley said: “This is why I am speaking out and this is why my wife and I discussed it, and we debated whether or not we should even make this issue public.”
He claimed that there had been past incidents that he and his wife did not make public, but decided that this one should not.
“...She thought, and I agree with her, that it was appropriate to make this public because we are now in the throes of the election. We have a mere 13 days to go before the people go to the polls and certainly we anticipate the rhetoric will get heated and that people will be encouraged in some quarters to do foolish things.”
Brantley claimed that the politics on Nevis would be heated and appealed to all those concerned to not let it be based on gutter tactics.
“I would just like to say to all concerned that we understand the politics will get quite heated, but the politics should be based on ideas; it should be based on trying to appeal to the electorate and some of these really underhanded and gutter tactics that we see being acted out are really unfortunate and I would ask that they stop. Let us not forget that all of us are capable of doing things that we ought not to do. In fact, let the easier road take; it is always harder to take the right road, it is always harder to do what is right. And we in this CCM party are campaigning, we are trying to appeal to our people, and our campaign is one of hope, our campaign is one of ideas, our campaign is not and will never be one of intimidation or one of gutter tactics.”
WINN FM also contacted Opposition Leader Hon. Joseph Parry and asked if the NRP was involved in the drone incident, to which he categorically denied, saying, “No, no, no, we don’t have any drones, we don’t fly any drones anyway.”
When again asked if the NRP had anything to do with the incident. Parry once again denied any involvement.
“No, we have not hired anybody to fly drones over Brantley’s house. We don’t have drones.”
The NRP’s Leader however acknowledged that MacMillan was employed to do campaign work for his party, adding that he was doing so since 2011.
He also responded negatively to if the drone incident was part of anything MacMillan was asked to do.
“No, no, no, every time we have an election we hire somebody to help us with pictures...and that is what he was hired to do. We have had other persons. Every political party does this...”
Matthew MacMillan has since made a statement concerning the drone incident and SKNVibes will publish same in a subsequent article.
