A moderate Democrat is blowing the whistle on a sanctuary sheriff’s alleged attempt to threaten her into voting against more cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
North Carolina State Rep. Carla Cunningham, a Charlotte Democrat with a well-established independent streak, was intensely pressured by her party to vote against a July 2025 override of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of House Bill 318, legislation requiring sheriffs to honor ICE detainers. She is now alleging that the sheriff of Mecklenburg County attempted extortion when he suggested that she’d “get hurt” if she helped Republicans pass the bill.
“One of the first things he said was that the citizens of Mecklenburg County would come at me,” Cunningham told the Daily Caller News Foundation, speaking about her phone call with Sheriff Garry McFadden, a Democrat who has long opposed working with ICE agents.
The liberal sheriff spoke to Cunningham ahead of the vote and allegedly suggested there would be serious consequences if she helped push HB 318 into law.
A Department of Homeland Security agent stands guard as protesters demonstrate against recent raids conducted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside the DHS office in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 16, 2025. (Photo by Peter Zay / AFP) (Photo by PETER ZAY/AFP via Getty Images)
“As the conversation went on, he said he didn’t want to see me get hurt and I said, ‘Well, you know, I’m already under security,’ which I thought that he would have known because CMPD [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department] knew, because the General Assembly police work with the local,” Cunningham continued. “But then he said, ‘but you’re in my county.’”
Cunningham believes the implication was clear: McFadden was allegedly suggesting he’d refuse protection for her if any members of the public attempted to harm her.
“The Sheriff is aware of the removal petition and allegations made, however we are not releasing a statement at this time,” a spokesperson for McFadden stated to the DCNF when asked about Cunningham’s allegation.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation confirmed earlier in January that it’s looking into allegations that McFadden also retaliated against employees, used county employees to unlawfully conduct work on his campaign website and directed deputies to drive officials to strip clubs and bars.
The Mecklenburg County sheriff’s fraught relationship with ICE began as soon as he was sworn into office in December 2018, where he immediately began refusing to honor detainer requests and repeatedly released criminal illegal migrants back into the community. ICE leadership in August 2019 blasted McFadden after releasing a list of the numerous criminal illegal migrants he allegedly released from county custody at the time.
Despite his strong opposition to cooperating with federal immigration authorities, McFadden in November 2025 complained that Customs and Border Protection didn’t personally communicate with him about targeted enforcement activities — dubbed Operation Charlotte’s Webb — in his jurisdiction at the time. He has since predicted that Border Patrol agents would likely be returning to the county, and suggested their presence brings fear and terror instead of public safety.
North Carolina House GOP leadership introduced HB 318 in March 2025, a bill expanding on previous anti-sanctuary legislation and requiring sheriffs to hold illegal migrants in their custody for at least 48 hours longer than they would have otherwise been released, a policy meant to give ICE enough time to arrive and assume custody.
Sheriff Garry McFadden. WCNC YouTube screen grab.
The legislation sailed through the Republican-dominated state legislature, but it was vetoed by Stein, who claimed it was unconstitutional.
However, North Carolina Republicans immediately got to work on overriding the governor’s veto, with all eyes on Cunningham. She was the only Democrat to cross party lines to vote in favor of the bill, making Republicans eager to keep her support and critics of the bill aiming to change her mind.
The Charlotte Democrat says she fielded a lot of calls before the override vote, but McFadden’s statements alarmed her.
“When I got off the phone, I made calls to my family, my staff and the General Assembly, and then I located an attorney,” Cunningham stated to the DCNF. “I started working on getting an attorney at that time, because it did take a little while to find someone that could take a case like that.”
The alleged threat did not faze Cunningham. She again joined Republicans in July 2025 to vote in favor of the override, paving the way for the bill to become law and drawing incredible ire from her party. Stein is now openly backing a primary challenger against her in this year’s midterm elections.
However, the moderate Democrat says she has no regrets, believing she is doing right by her constituents by prioritizing law enforcement efforts.
“I’ve always been what you considered a moderate Democrat, that independent thinking,” she stated. “With my nursing background, of course, you have to have good judgment skills as well as critical thinking skills, and I rely on those quite a bit.”
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