Letter threatens to expose Brownsville City Council “incident”

The letters, which arrived after the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 23, make no threats of physical violence. Instead, they vow to reveal incriminating information if Councilman Trapper Solberg does not resign from his position.

Administrator Scott McDowell confirmed that the typewritten, anonymous letters – one to him and Mayor Adam Craven and one to Solberg – were sent to City Hall.

Here is a transcript of the short letter as dictated by McDowell and confirmed by a photograph of one of the letters:

In light of recent events, it may be wise to keep the following in mind:

Brownsville is a small town.

In small towns people talk and sometimes they know things that are not common knowledge, but perhaps should be.

Of course, I am sure that the Mayor and Mr Solberg would prefer that the incident at Hex some 14 months ago remained a private matter, and perhaps it will remain so. It all depends on whether the Council gives in to the will of the people and allows Mr Solberg to resign. Your decision, choose wisely.

McDowell said Craven delivered the letter to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

Bloomfield told Mid-Valley Media he had about seven encounters with the Solbergs in the past 14 months. During the last encounter on May 31, he decided to provoke the couple to get Trapper Solberg to admit – as his wife had – to calling him an asshole.

The exchange, in which Bloomfield repeatedly calls Nichole Solberg the “C” word, begins behind the Brownsville Saloon, where Bloomfield asks the couple if they are transphobic. Trapper Solberg responds, “Abso-f–ing-lute.”

In one of the other videos, also in the bar, Nichole and Trapper Solberg approach Bloomfield and a friend and make silly faces. Councilman Solberg clicks his tongue between two raised fingers – which usually means cunnilingus – and blows air kisses and waves.

The May 31 conversation lasted more than ten minutes, and Bloomfield later called the Linn County Sheriff’s Office to send a deputy. A report from the deputy states that everyone involved was intoxicated, with the Solbergs visibly swaying and slurring their words.

The MP warned that the behavior could be charged as harassment if the bitterness continued.

In June, McDowell responded to the complaints by announcing that he would ask the city attorney whether the allegations violated city regulations for elected and appointed officials listed in the officer handbook and whether they warranted an investigation.

At the council meeting on Tuesday, July 23, McDowell reported that City Attorney Russ Williamson had concluded that private encounters with residents were not covered in the officer handbook and advised against an investigation because council members are allowed to have a private life.

Still, McDowell said he was willing to try to broker a solution. He had made an offer once before, but because Bloomfield said he was seeking legal advice, he dropped it. McDowell said he would try again.

Bloomfield and a friend are crowdfunding to pay for legal fees. As of Saturday morning, July 27, he had raised $4,850. He posted an update thanking his supporters and saying he had hired a lawyer.

Several residents expressed their disappointment at the inaction on Tuesday.

Councillor Solberg has now described the complaints as “in court”. He denies being homophobic or having harassed anyone. Three other councillors officially support him.

In a related move, his wife, Nichole, who is a member of the city’s Parks & Open Space Advisory Board, obtained a temporary restraining order against Bloomfield. The two parties will appear in court again on Tuesday, July 30.

When asked for comment on Friday, Trapper Solberg said his wife had been wrongly accused.

In a text message, he wrote: “My wife Nichole is having trouble leaving the house. The situation is much more dynamic than the media has portrayed. She was wrongly accused. Now people are being incited because of this (reporting), which has led to many angry comments and the written threats the city received on Wednesday. Those threats should never have happened. I appreciate your willingness to hear your side of the story, but we are concerned for our family’s safety. I hope there will be a time soon when more details can be shared.”

For about a year, Brownsville residents have been in an uproar over an incident that occurred in front of “Hex,” a witch-themed craft store on Main Street.

Mid-Valley Media was aware of the rumors and could not substantiate them. Since the threatening letter was turned over to the sheriff’s office, we present what we know here.

On July 22, 2023, Andrew Hunt, a Brownsville resident known around town as the guy who wears kilts, was taking a midnight stroll – he says he likes to walk a few steps – when he noticed a white SUV stretch limousine blaring early 2000s hip hop, he said in a phone interview.

Later, as he was heading home, he noticed a white, muscular man with short hair urinating in the Hex’s courtyard, Hunt said. A second guy came out of the bar and did the same thing, so he decided to say something.

“I was like, this is not cool,” he said, adding that the first guy seemed like he wanted to fight him. He started using right-wing rhetoric, calling him “antifa” (for people who protest against fascists) and saying, “What’s your problem, Braveheart?”

Hunt responded, “Dude, stop pissing on my town,” he told Mid-Valley Media. He called the Linn County Sheriff’s Office about the threat.

According to an incident report from the LCSO, the deputy was actually able to catch up to the limo. Neither the driver nor a very intoxicated man in the back seat of the limo said they saw anyone urinating. The driver said he was dropping off a group of men at the bar after a wedding.

The deputy wrote that he could not find anyone who matched Hunt’s description. Hunt acknowledges that the details he provided describe “half the population of Brownsville.”

McDowell said he investigated the incident in response to the rumors. He said Trapper Solberg and Craven were indeed members of that party and were at the bar that night, but they were not the ones who urinated on Hex’s property.