A once-influential Senior resident Superior Court Judge, now vying for a seat in the North Carolina State Senate as part of the Republican Party primary in 2026, has been embroiled in controversy after being recorded making racist remarks. The recording captures Judge Jerry Tillett discussing the idea of shooting a Black man over what he describes as a minor misunderstanding.

In the audio, obtained solely by The National File, both Judge Tillett and his son, Jeremy Tillett, are heard using racially charged language, including multiple instances of the N-word. This shocking exchange has sparked outrage and concern over the judge’s character.

The recording further reveals Tillett endorsing the notion of violence against a Black man, adding to the severity of the statements captured. The audio is available through a link provided below.

This exclusive audio, acquired by National File prior to its release on a local social media platform, has prompted a significant response. The local page is expected to share the recording widely.

The legitimacy of the audio has been confirmed by National File, as North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation has initiated an inquiry into the tape’s origins. This development underscores the gravity of the allegations and the potential impact on Tillett’s political aspirations.

In the recording obtained by National File, Judge Jerry Tillett advocates shooting a black person, evidently for turning the lights out on his group, ostensibly at a bar.

“It was funny. He turned the light of,” the former Judge can be heard saying.

“You should have shot his black ass,” Jerry’s son Jeremy responds.

“Should have shot that ni**er,” former Judge Tillett responded to his son.

The violent, racist tirade evidently did not offend Jerry’s wife, Tanya Tillett. In fact, Ms. Tillett believed the entire situation to be comical, according to the audio uncovered by National File.

“He came out so pissy, I was like what in the world, someone cut the light out on me, I laughed all the way home from Norfolk,” Tanya Tillett said.

“She thought it was funny,” her husband confirmed.

Not to be outdone, the younger Tillett ups the ante, saying, “Ni**er, Ni**er, I’d of been like Ni**er please.”

Judge Tillett echoes his son, and says, “Ni**er please.”

The audio concludes with the Judge-turned-Senate Candidate exhorting the murder of the man. “You should’ve shot that ni**er!” Jerry Tillett can be heard saying.

Judge Tillett is no stranger to controversy.

Multiple sources familiar with his standing in Dare County have confirmed to National File Tillett’s loose grasp of morals and ethics.

Tillett’s ethical gaps are what led to his quietly resigning from his position as Superior Court Judge on May 1st of this year.

Tillett had also been formally accused of “systemic judicial and prosecutorial corruption” in a complaint filed earlier this year before the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Among the accusations in the complaint was the claim that Tillett allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair with an Assistant District Attorney named Jennifer Karpowicz Bland.

The allegations that Karpowicz Bland and Jerry Tillett were having an affair are bolstered by the fact that both Bland and Tillett stepped down from their roles in the judiciary on the same day.

Bland was appointed to a judgeship by Democrat Governor Roy Cooper as a Democrat in 2021. She immediately switched to the Republican Party to run for re-election and lost.

After her loss for re-election to her Democrat-appointed judgeship, Bland returned to her role in the District Attorney’s office.

District Attorney Jeff Cruden, a Republican, who had previously lost an election for District Attorney in Wake County, brought her back into the DA’s office despite her obvious Democrat ties.

Jerry Tillett was also a registered Democrat as a judge. When the politics changed, Tillett also switched parties, from Democrat to Republican, in order to keep his position.

Not only is Tillett alleged to have engaged in an extramarital affair with former Asst. District Attorney Bland, that A.D.A. was also alleged to have engaged in the use of cocaine.

After a few back and forth phone calls with Jeremy Tillett and Jennifer Karpowizc Bland, Jerry Tillett texted National File three times, threatening “all appropriate legal action.”

Despite the fact that the audio has more than six thousand views on Facebook, Tillett repeatedly claimed via text not to know anything about the reason for National File’s reaching out to him.

We are including the entire text exchange with Jerry Tillett here in the article.

Tillett’s claims not to know about the audio lacks credibility, given the small size of the town and its tight knit political scene.

Sources in the Outer Banks tell National File that Judge Tillett has been “freaking out” over the audio since December 11th, when it was first posted.

National File has reached out to powerful Senator Phil Berger for comment on Tillett’s racist tirade. We’ll update you should he submit a comment.

National File reached out to both Jerry Tillett and his son Jeremy, as well as Jennifer Karpowicz Bland for comment.

On first reaching the younger Tillett by phone to discuss the audio of the racist tirade, Jeremy made excuses to get off the phone, but when given an opportunity to comment for this story, said he would call back to make a comment, which he did.

When Jeremy Tillett called back, he made the claim to National File that “it is an illegally obtained recording.”

Upon being pressed on the fact, and informed that North Carolina is a Single-Party Consent state, the younger Tillett changed his approach away from the legality of the recording, saying “I’m not going to get into the legality of it.”

Seemingly having found himself between a rock and a hard place concerning the legality of the recording, Jeremy shifted to Artificial Intelligence manipulation and deployed a legal bullying strategy.

“We will take legal action with all those involved, or with anybody who publishes it,” Jeremy said.

When asked if he had taken any legal action regarding the audio as initially posted to Facebook, he refused to comment.

When asked if he had spoken with his father, the attorney and judge, between the first and second calls with National File, Jeremy replied, “I’m not going to answer that either.”

Jeremy closed the conversation by saying, “That’s not even me.”

Multiple sources in the Outer Banks have confirmed to National File that the voices do indeed belong to Jerry, Jeremy, and Tanya Tillett.

Bland, for her part, refused to deny the allegations that she had conducted an affair with Jerry Tillett when National File texted her.

When reached by phone, Bland also refused to condemn the Tillett’s violent, racist tirade, and instead characterized it as “young boys re-iterating a stand-up comedy routine.”

Bland, who says that Jerry Tillett has been her mentor for seventeen years, also tried to claim that Tillett is “ethical,” and has “integrity.”

Jerry Tillet’s long track record of ethical misconduct has garnered public attention before.

In 2019, The N.C. Judicial Standards Commission threw “the proverbial book at Chief Resident Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett with a 12-page list of charges.”

Unfortunately, that same Judicial Standards Commission later rescinded its own recommendation to remove Tillett from the bench.

Although its own investigation of Tillett’s personal vendettas against the Kill Devil Hills Police Department and District Attorney’s Office certainly supported that step, the commission instead decided just to scold the judge with a “public reprimand.”

Tillett even himself “recognize[d] and admit[ed]” that his conduct over the past several years was “reasonably perceived as coercive and retaliatory and “prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

Tillett’s misconduct included interfering with Kill Devil Hills (KDH) town employees and police in connection with the arrest and detention of his son Jeremy, as well as Tillett’s requiring KDH officials “to surrender copies of town employees’ personnel records to his office.”

The Commission concluded that Tillett’s behavior “created a public perception of a conflict of interest which threatens the public’s faith and confidence in (Tillett’s) integrity and impartiality.”

Tillett’s own attorneys refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing in an interview with The Daily Advance, an Elizabeth City newspaper.

Rather, TIllett’s attorney John Trimpi suggested that Tillett’s “efforts to better the administration of justice were well-intentioned,” and that while others might believe Tillett had gone too far, Trimpi didn’t “share that opinion.”

Tillett’s pattern of bullying is well documented. Tillett put the town of Kill Devil Hills and its officials through the ringer over the course of three years “pursing his obsession to fire its police chief.”

Tillett’s efforts to intimidate former District Attorney Frank Parrish into removing Chief Britt were well known at the time. He even threatening to have Britt arrested.

The citizenry was not happy with the State of North Carolina’s judicial accountability system as practiced by the NC Judicial Standards Commission, if The Daily Advance is to be believed.

Established in 1973 to consider complaints against judges of the state’s General Court of Justice, The North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission hears and considers complaints of misconduct against judges of the state’s General Court of Justice. Where appropriate, the Commission makes recommendations for public discipline.

The Commission membership was as follows at the time they let Tillett off the hook.

Judicial Members

Wanda G. Bryant, Chair, Court of Appeals
R. Stuart Albright, Vice-Chair, Superior Court
Jeffrey B. Foster, Vice-Chair, Superior Court
Sherri Elliot, District Court
James H. Faison III, District Court

Attorney Members

William H. Jones Jr.
Forrest A. Ferrell
Allison Mullins
Lonnie M. Player Jr.

Citizen Members

Cresswell D. Elmore
Dean Jordan
Grady H. Hawkins
Talece Y. Hunter

You can watch the complete video of Tilletts’ violent, racist tirade below.

EXCLUSIVE:

NC State Senate Candidate and Judge Jerry Tillett Drops Violent, N-word Laced Tirade Aimed at Black Man pic.twitter.com/Pl5xerpAvg

— National File (@NationalFile) December 23, 2025

You can read the entire DOJ complaint against Tillett just below: