NORTH BEACH, Md. — In May, an incident described as political violence shook the small town of North Beach and sent waves of fear and anger through the tight-knit community. The person charged in the case, Devane Wright, was acquitted of the charges..
According to court records, the state’s attorney’s office did not present sufficient evidence to support a conviction. Wright’s attorneys had initially sought to dismiss the charges, citing concerns about unequal application of the law and a potential conflict of interest involving the prosecutor. The case proceeded to trial after those motions were denied.
“I’m thinking about a lot of things,” Wright said. “And one thing I keep going back to is that the victim got no justice at all. They screwed her over by targeting me and sensationalizing all of this.”
The case began after Wright was recommended to members of the Republican Central Committee (RCC) by a woman identified in court proceedings as Stephanie Starkey, who has since moved to Florida. Wright acknowledged that she had disagreements with Starkey in the past.
In photo evidence reviewed by The BayNet and presented in court, Starkey shared Wright’s photo with the RCC in a Facebook message and commented, “I know the woman is a hardcore liberal. She tried to get my husband in trouble during COVID. Everyone and everything is racist to her.”
A person responding from the RCC account identified himself in court as Jason Scaggs. According to testimony, Scaggs and Starkey discussed Wright and used the term “reckoning.” Starkey also inquired about applying a $500 reward back to the RCC.
The alleged victim could not be reached for comment. Scaggs and Josh Johnson, another witness who testified about the RCC’s Facebook activity, did not respond to requests for comment.
Wright, reflecting on the case, said she believes some positive outcomes emerged. She noted that her relationship with her husband has grown stronger and said the experience deepened her understanding of what people face in the justice system.
She added that she’s been approached by people in the community who feel they’ve been treated unfairly in the Courts in Calvert County, or by the one-party leadership of the county’s government.
“As we can all see from the outcome in my case, we are exponentially more powerful and successful when we work together,” Wright said.
She said the support she received signaled a broader demand for change and accountability.
“It cost me a lot. Not just money. Thousands in missed work and doctors and therapy fees, legal fees. It degraded my mental health pretty seriously,” she said. “I walked around for six months with the terror of random physical violence. They made sure they shamed me as publicly as possible before anything went on in court, and I intend to hold them accountable.”
“It’s over for me, but not for the victim,” she added. “She won’t get justice because people chose malice toward me instead of truth for her. And as a result, there is still someone out there whose actions haven’t been addressed. That’s not justice.”
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