RALEIGH, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Attorneys for two truck drivers say their clients were assaulted and threatened at gunpoint by landfill workers and a Haywood County sheriff’s deputy while hauling debris from Tropical Storm Helene cleanup efforts in June.

Matheson & Associates PLLC announced Wednesday it plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit over the June 26 incident at the Two Banks Development Landfill in Haywood County.

Attorney Moseley Matheson said drivers Joseph Joines and Angelica Hendon, both of whom are Black, were targeted by employees of Wright Brothers Construction and TBD Landfill, as well as a sheriff’s deputy who allegedly participated in the confrontation.

“They are victims of a system that failed them, a system where private violence was followed by official indifference, where power was abused and where the basic principles of due process and civil rights were trampled,” Matheson said during a Raleigh news conference. “This case is about the abuse of power, the failure of institutions and two individuals with the courage to stand up and demand change.”

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Joseph Joines, 27, an independent contractor, arrived at the Two Banks Development Landfill on June 26 for his first delivery at the site and mistakenly bypassed a staging area where trucks waited to enter. After initially being told to stay at the gate, Joines said he was later ordered to move to the end of the line by landfill employee Andrew Ferguson.

Joines said Ferguson returned with several men, accused him of stealing a cellphone and searched his vehicle.

Joines made his way to the top of the hill to unload, only to have the men charge him again, he said.

“Andrew had a gun in his hand,” Joines said.

Video Joines posted to social media showed men climbing on his truck, with Ferguson striking the vehicle with what appeared to be a gun.

Joines put his truck in gear and tried to leave at low speed.

“Then I saw that bulldozer,” he said.

The bulldozer rammed his truck and tipped its trailer, leaving him on a steep embankment, Joines said. A Haywood County sheriff’s deputy was among the group confronting him.

“I thought they were going to kill me,” Joines said during the news conference. “I decided that I needed to start running. So I climbed out of my truck.”

But, he said, the men returned and told him to get back in his truck and slammed the truck door on his dog. He said he was told by a man who identified himself as a sheriff to stay in his truck or he was going to jail.

“Another man told me to stay in the truck so that nothing bad would happen,” Joines said. “I noticed two other men on the passenger side of the truck, and I thought they were going to enter the truck, so I got out and grabbed my dog and ran across the field.”

Fearing for his safety, Joines ran to the cab of co-worker Angelica Hendon, 29.

“Once I got into Angelica’s truck, Andrew came with the same group of men and pointed a gun straight at us,” Joines said. “This had terrified Angelica, and she told me to get out of her truck so she wouldn’t get shot.”

The next truck he ran to was empty and locked, so he ran back to Hendon’s, where he said Ferguson confronted him again with a gun, telling him he “was going to jail.”

Meanwhile, Hendon had called 911.

“While I was waiting, I saw a group of about five men, some of whom I recognized as TBD employees, as I sat there, I saw them pushing stuff over,” Hendon said during Wednesday’s news conference.

She said within seconds of Joines running to her truck for help, several men approached the vehicle.

“A TBD employee, I learned to be an angry Ferguson, came to my truck with a gun. Another TBD employee reached in and pulled the keys out of my truck,” Hendon said. “I was in fear for my life when I ordered Joseph out of my truck.”

A few minutes later, Haywood County deputies arrived.

Requests to see the incident report have gone unanswered.

Matheson said video evidence shows the deputy was present during most of the incident, threatened Joines with arrest and failed to intervene. He said as far as he knew, no arrests had been made.

The law firm said it intends to bring claims, citing violations of the Fourth Amendment, assault, false imprisonment and other allegations. Defendants will include the landfill operators, the construction company, the deputy, the sheriff and the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office.

“We believe Mr. Joines was steps away from being killed,” attorney Karl Roth said by phone Thursday. “I do believe that if it wasn’t for the fact that there were other witnesses … I think that Joseph was just seconds away from being shot.”

The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jones, who uses the name “BossedUpp Ent” on TikTok, posted videos and a written account describing the confrontation, drawing widespread attention to the incident.

TBD Landfill took issue with what Joines said happened.

“TBD Landfill disputes any claim that Joseph Joines was a victim of any misconduct or prejudice on the landfill property. In fact, Joines engaged in aggressive and threatening behavior and broke the facility’s rules, as well as state and federal law,” the landfill operator said in a statement.

“Mr. Joines’s posted videos are selected to tell an untrue story. Prior to the scene depicted in a misleading video clip, there were many attempts by Landfill employees to de-escalate the situation caused by his actions. A timeline of multiple outgoing calls for help, and ultimately to 911, demonstrates the significant efforts made by the landfill employees to resolve the situation quickly and safely,” the statement continued.

“We encourage those interested to seek the facts related to this incident. TBD Landfill takes safety seriously and continues to review and strengthen protocols to ensure a secure environment for employees, partners and the public.”

Last month, Wright Brothers Construction Company Inc. said the incident did not occur at one of its job sites, but acknowledged that an employee was present.

“To be clear, this incident did not occur on a Wright Brothers jobsite. We are taking the matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough internal investigation regarding our employee’s presence at the location, which is affiliated with Two Banks Development, LLC,” the company said in a statement. “The other individuals shown in the video are not employed by Wright Brothers Construction Company. We condemn the behavior displayed in the video in the strongest possible terms.”

Matheson said the lawsuit, which will likely be filed in the next couple weeks, will target those involved in the incident.

“I want to make clear that we are not alleging that the citizens of Haywood County or the town of Clyde, North Carolina, have any involvement in this incident,” he said. Our clients were involved in cleanup effort for Hurricane Helene. The citizens of Haywood County have suffered greatly as a result of that storm and the town of Clyde and its residents have played no role in this incident, and we expect they will be treated accordingly and not harassed or threatened.”