McCrae Dowless’s family says ‘rest of the story’ will be told on election fraud allegations

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The family of McCrae Dowless released a new statement Monday promising that more information will come out about allegations related to election fraud that has swirled for years, stemming from the 2018 election for the 9th Congressional District.

Dowless died Sunday morning after a battle with cancer.

In a statement released by Dowless’s lawyer, Cynthia Adams Singletary, the family said more information about the allegations at the appropriate time.

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“The family looks forward to the public finally hearing ‘the rest of the story’, which he has made arrangements to be heard at the appropriate time. However, now is not that time,” the statement said.

Dowless was charged with election fraud-related crimes in two separate indictments handed down in February and September of 2019, respectively. Neither he nor any of his six co-defendants had gone to trial at the time of his death Sunday morning.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, who is prosecuting the case, issued a statement Sunday in response to Dowless’s death.

“We had set a trial date of August and Mr. Dowless was entitled to the presumption of innocence through his day in court,” Freeman’s statement said.

“There remain about six others charged related to this matter and we will be moving forward with those cases with the understanding that the State’s position was always that Mr. Dowless was the principal actor in coordinating the ballot process in question.”

Full Coverage: Read all of WBTV’s NC-9 reporting

Dowless maintained his innocence following those charges, including in his last meeting with WBTV’s Chief Investigative Reporter Nick Ochsner that took place April 13.

In a brief interview with Ochsner immediately after leaving a Wake County jail in February 2019, Dowless said “the truth will prevail on it all.”

The statement from Dowless’s family released Monday focused on their loved one and the impact he made on them. Here’s the full statement:

On behalf of Andrea Heverly, daughter of McCrae Dowless, the family would like to thank everyone who has so lovingly reached out and supported them during this time of loss. They have lost their father, their “papa crae”, their brother, and the man who they turned to for support. He was so much more to them than just “a news story”. Although there have been numerous inaccuracies reported through the years, one news outlet got it correct when they reported that McCrae Dowless could quote political statistics like some people quote sports statistics. He did love politics, and the process by which officials are elected in this country, believing it was one of the cornerstones of our government. In fact, he served as an elected official himself for a number of years in Bladen County. He was proud of his accomplishments in the political world. The family looks forward to the public finally hearing “the rest of the story”, which he has made arrangements to be heard at the appropriate time. However, now is not that time. Now is a time for grieving our devastating loss. We respectfully ask for time to grieve, your prayers and privacy for our family during this very difficult time.

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