Timothy Jacobs, a Native American who took hostages at a Robeson County newspaper in 1988 to protest corruption and racism, and who went on to become a staunch advocate for the Tuscarora people, died on October 21. He was 58.
The cause of death was a heart attack, according to Brandy Locklear Alvarez, who said Jacobs was her cousin.
Jacobs, who was soft-spoken but had a commanding presence, holds an unlikely place in Robeson County history. “Anybody that didn’t know him was afraid of him,” Locklear Alvarez said. “But everyone who knew him worshipped him.”
Jacobs was 19 when he and Eddie Hatcher entered The Robesonian’s office in downtown Lumberton on February 1, 1988, armed with sawed-off shotguns. They rounded up 17 hostages and made demands to N.C. Gov. Jim Martin. They wanted an outside investigation into the county court system and the sheriff’s treatment of Native and Black residents, and they wanted the jail release of a local man they believed had information about deputies’ connections to drug dealers.
In a series of interviews with Border Belt Independent in 2023, Jacobs said he and Hatcher chose to occupy The Robesonian because its office had mirrored windows in which people could see out but not in. Plus, he said, “What other way to capture the attention of the world than to take over the media?”
The world did pay attention, and Jacobs and Hatcher grabbed national headlines. At least for a while, outsiders seemed to care about Robeson County’s struggles with crime, drugs, and racial tensions. About 40 percent of the county’s residents are Native American, 30 percent are white, and 23 percent are Black.
Jacobs and Hatcher, who released hostages throughout the 10-hour occupation, surrendered peacefully to the FBI when the governor’s office agreed to create a task force to investigate local law enforcement. But the group closed its inquiry after 10 days. No one was arrested as part of the investigation.
After the occupation, Hatcher and Jacobs were the first people charged under the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, a federal law President Ronald Reagan signed to “provide resources and authorities essential in countering the insidious threat terrorism poses to those who cherish freedom and democracy.”
Nine months after the occupation, a federal jury found Jacobs and Hatcher not guilty of kidnapping and gun charges. They were indicted two months later in Robeson County on 14 state counts of kidnapping but fled to avoid the charges. Their freedom didn’t last long, however.
Hatcher, considered the occupation ringleader, was arrested in March 1989, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was released on parole in 1995 but died in prison in 2009 after he was convicted of first-degree murder in an unrelated case.
Jacobs surrendered after he was arrested during a traffic stop in New York. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years behind bars. He said he served only 20 months because he participated in a program that allowed him to maintain a job outside prison.
Following his release, Jacobs returned to Robeson County but struggled to find work and a place to live. Locklear Alvarez, who was eight during the occupation, said her parents no longer allowed her to visit the local Tuscarora longhouse because they worried its members had become too militant.
“A lot of people withdrew,” she said. “It pushed the people away from Tuscarora. He carried that on him. It was a heavy burden he carried.”
Locklear Alvarez said she believes Jacobs dedicated his life to preserving Tuscarora culture and history partly to make up for what he had done at The Robesonian. But Jacobs, who wore his hair long and made traditional Native American art, didn’t always shy away from trouble.
In 2018, the state’s Alcohol Law Enforcement arrested Jacobs and several others on charges of operating illegal gaming centers. Jacobs said the Tuscarora opened the businesses to raise money to hire lawyers who would fight for state and federal recognition for the estimated 8,500 Tuscarorans living in North Carolina.
Most Tuscarorans, whose tribe dominated the region for centuries, moved to Niagara County, New York, after the Tuscarora War in the early 1700s. But about 650 families remained. Some settled in Robeson County, where other Native American groups, including the Lumbee Tribe, had also taken refuge from encroaching European newcomers.
The state recognized the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, which has more than 60,000 members, in 1885. Congress granted the tribe full federal recognition in late 2025. But the designation has remained elusive for the Tuscarora.
Jacobs wanted to change that, said Robert Chavis, a longtime friend who worked with Jacobs to preserve tribal lands in Johnston County. “Timothy was about getting people together and forming unity.”
In April, Jacobs attended the unveiling of a Tuscarora-themed mural in downtown Smithfield. The artwork features “the likeness of Jacobs,” according to the Johnston County Heritage Center.
Jacobs had fallen ill days before the event but insisted on being there, Locklear Alvarez said. He had struggled with a heart condition for years.
“We knew he was on borrowed time,” Locklear Alvarez said.
In 2023, Jacobs reflected on his health and his legacy. “I won’t be forgotten,” he said.