Newton County authorities aware of a suspicious group in Bleakwood area

Newton County Sheriff Robert Burby confirmed on Thursday that he and his deputies are aware of a group of suspicious people that have appeared in an area on County Road 4048 in the Bleakwood Community. Reports began coming into KJAS News on Thursday saying that a number of people, all wearing orange and purple clothing, brought in numerous travel trailers and erected large tents. They also put up a sign in a foreign language and they’ve been banging on drums and playing loud music all night. KJAS also received a report from a man who said that he approached a gate out of curiosity and was met by a large African man with a strong African accent who told him to leave. He also said that during his short time there, he observed vehicles with out of state license plates, which included New York and Florida. We asked Sheriff Burby about the reports and he said “That’s true, every bit of it”. Burby said deputies have responded to multiple loud noise complaints. “They’re having some kind of celebration all this week”, said Burby “We’ve had lots of noise complaints, we’ve asked them to turn it down because it’s disturbing the neighbors”. Burby went on to say “This is a free country, we understand that, but when we get calls from our citizens, we have to respect that as well”. Burby said later in the day that he spoke with members of the group and learned that they are there to celebrate Passover. He said the celebration would last through Saturday.