Alamance News Publisher Objects to Brief Courtroom Closure During Murder Trial

Tom Boney Jr., publisher of The Alamance News, formally protested after Alamance County Superior Court Judge C. Douglas Green ordered the public and press to leave a courtroom for roughly one hour during testimony in the Green Level murder trial on March 6, 2026. Judge Green announced at 11:35 a.m. that, “Because of the nature of some of testimony [about to be given], we are going to have to ask everyone who’s not associated with this case to clear the courtroom,” and jurors were excused until 2:00 p.m., the paper reported.

The temporary exclusion occurred during a 404(b) evidentiary hearing on the admissibility of testimony connected to pending drug‑trafficking charges against defendant Garyonded Stepney, matters the judge described as separate from the murder charge. Chief Assistant District Attorney Alex Bass told the court he could narrow his arguments so the courtroom could remain open, according to The Alamance News account, but Judge Green cited unspecified threats to the “safety and the safety of his family” when he later entered a written order supporting a limited closure.

Boney appeared in court Monday afternoon to protest the clearance on the record and told Judge Green, “I seriously object to your closure as being unlawful, improper, and unprecedented,” per The Alamance News. At the end of proceedings that day the newspaper filed a written motion requesting a written order that sets out the court’s factual and legal basis for excluding the public; The Alamance News reported Judge Green assured Boney he would enter findings and did issue an order for a limited closure late Wednesday afternoon.

The March 2026 protest follows a string of access disputes in Alamance County in December 2020 that drew statewide attention and legal filings. On Dec. 2 and Dec. 8, 2020, The News & Observer, The Alamance News and Triad City Beat sought access to hearings the trial court denied without a hearing or written findings, according to materials filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. On Dec. 8, 2020, when Boney attempted to object in person to the closure of a sentencing for a person identified as Brazee, Judge Fred Wilkins threatened contempt and ordered deputies to remove Boney; deputies removed him in handcuffs, RCFP and local reporting state.

Those December 2020 challenges produced a petition filed at the North Carolina Court of Appeals on Dec. 11, 2020 seeking an order requiring public and press access; the appeals court denied RCFP’s motion for leave to file an amicus brief the same day. Alamance County issued an order clarifying media access on Dec. 18, 2020, and the Court of Appeals dismissed the writ petition as moot on Jan. 6, 2021. RCFP’s position statements from that period argued, “The trial court’s wholesale closure of these criminal proceedings undermines public confidence in our courts and violates the First Amendment and North Carolina Constitution,” and added, “Depriving a journalist of his opportunity to object to court closure by handcuffing and physically removing him is unconstitutional and wholly improper.”

The March 6 limited closure raises unresolved questions about the factual record Judge Green relied on and whether prosecutors’ narrowed arguments would have preserved public access. The Alamance News formal objection and the judge’s written order are now part of the court file; requests for the full text of Judge Green’s findings and the court docket entry for the March 6 proceeding are appropriate next steps. For records or copies of filings, The Alamance News offices are at 114 West Elm Street, Graham, NC 27253, phone 336.228.7851.