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Summary
Discovery Channel has a docudrama that follow people producing moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains , but isMoonshinersreal ? Fans of the docudrama on Discovery Channel have a question about their honestness , wondering if the browned family really hold out all the time in the Alaskan bush and if the struggles of theGold Rushcrew were represent or really materialise . When it come toMoonshiners , it is even harder to believe in many cases . The show premiered in 2011 and survey the life of people in Kentucky , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Virginia , as they give rise moonshine .
What really make this hard to believe is that , throughout most of the serial publication , these people conducted their stage business illegally . While the main focus was bringing viewers into the lives of the moonshiners operating their distilleries , the fact it was against the law made many people wonder how Discovery Channel was able to tell this narrative without law enforcement closing in . Shows likeAlaskan Bush Peoplehave people endeavor to disprove the livesthat the stars live . Meanwhile , Moonshinersdoubters interview the entire legality of the reality television show .
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Law Enforcement Threatened Tim Off-Camera
The Cops Entered Tim’s Home To Question Him
The show want watcher to find like they ’re buzz off a real look into the experience of illegal moonshiners .
Discovery Channel wantsMoonshinersviewers to feel like they ’re get a real spirit into the experience of illegal moonshiners . Occasionally , the personalities on the show are stopped by jurisprudence enforcement while tv camera are rolling . They are almost always let to walk by without an check , but it provides a skillful moment of latent hostility during the show . However , not every law enforcement fundamental interaction is caught by theMoonshinerscameras .
In someMoonshinersbonus footage , Tim Smith admits that police officers seek to face him about the showone eve when he was home . They brought hush from the show to " turn up " that he ’d been moonshining illegally . Tim remained unagitated , though . He said he invited them to come in into his theater and model down since he was about to have dinner . Tim went on to say that the police had fall to his sign of the zodiac many clock time look for corn liquor but never notice evidence , which is why he was never arrested ( viaBourbon Blog ) .
Special Agent Jesse Tate Was Misled About The Show
He Didn’t Know They’d Be Making Moonshine
Special Agent Jesse Tate is one of the conversant faces from season one ofMoonshiners . He worked for the Virginia ABC Bureau and appeared regularly throughout the first season . However , what makes Tate so interesting is that he never interacts with moonshiner like Tim and Tickle , two of the main characters in the series . It turns out that Tate was misled about the nature of the show . He had no idea that it was going to be depicting Moon manufacture or distribution .
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The Bureau had think Discovery Channel was making a show about the story of bootleg . The United States Department of State of Virginia was not felicitous when the first time of year ofMoonshinersaired on idiot box . " Virginia ABC agreed to participate in an informative part that document the history of moonshine and moonshine investigations in Virginia , " tell Virginia ABC spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw in a statement ( viaThe Christian Post ) . They did n’t know it would depict people really moonshine illegally . Tate never come out on the show again .
The Crew Believes The State Is Just Mad
In the same jam release where they take to be misled about the nature of the show , Virginia self-assurance slam Discovery for airing a false , lead astray show(viaFox News ) . After viewers keep asking why the state allowed the criminal activities to continue , Virginia said the show was not really impersonate illegal moonshining operation but was really just a dramatization . They ask Discovery Channel to summate a disclaimer , but their request was “ overleap . ”
They arrogate that the state is just mad that they have n’t been able to catch them .
Cast members of the show continue to say the opposite , though . They claim that the state is just frantic that they have n’t been capable to becharm them . Since agents would have to catch the cast in the act of producing illegal bootleg to have a case – which they have n’t yet – they could keep create the show . Tim say , " You must be find and strong-arm samples of the mathematical product you ’re produce has to be take and analyzed . " The mold evidence law enforcement they are distilling body of water , and with no evidence , there can be no taking into custody .
Original SR Image by Shawn S. Lealos
Tim’s Day Job As A Fire Chief Caused Problems
Some Fans Believed He Shouldn’t Have His Two Jobs
Once someone sign onto a world TV show , they ask round a certain amount of examination into their life . Tim learned that quickly once viewers realized what he was doing during the day as illegal moonshining was n’t the only source of income for Tim . When he was n’t evading police whirl to extend secret distillery , he worked as a Fire Chief of the Climax Volunteer Fire Department in Virginia .
Most people think of fireman as upstanding members of company , sosome looker had issue with Tim going from an on - the - level job to operating something that was potentially harmful . For the most part , though , his interview does n’t seem to care what he does during the day as long as he keep on promoting the TV show . Tim has also pay back his legal profession , create his Fire 32 Moonshine as a tribute to fire fighter across the country , and he also trip and visits many stations throughout the year ( viaFSF ) .
Popcorn Sutton Was Arrested In 2008
He Was Sentenced To 18 Months
Viewers who have been with the show since the first season probably think the occasional clip of Popcorn Sutton . Sutton was one of the most celebrated moonshiners and was so famous , that he even had a few documentaries made about him . These includeHillbilly : The Real Story(2007 ) andPopcorn Sutton : A Hell of a Life(2014).Hillbilly : The Real Storywent on to win a 2009 Southeast Emmy Award . Sutton was lucky enough to mostly evade the law for X during his moonshine career .
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His luck came to an end when he told an underground officer that he had over 900 gallons of illegal moonshine that he was ready to betray . They were n’t about to lease that support , of course of instruction , and ATF officers raided his property in March . He was charge with illicitly distill spirit and possession of a handgun as a felon . Sutton plead shamefaced and was condemn to 18 month in prison house the follow January .
Virginia Denied Tim A Legal Moonshine License
Things Are Now Free For Him To Sell His Moonshine
Tim no longer has to obliterate his moonshining .
Tim no longer has to hide his moonshining . He is now proudly able-bodied to sell his moonshine legally , which he trust will aid him in his effort to keep the traditions and civilisation surrounding moonshine . Climax moonshine is produced in Virginia , but it very intimately was n’t . As Tim was set about up his distillery , rumor flew that the Virginia ABC almost denied him a license to produce moonshine legally . Whether they were angry that he ’d evaded punishment for so long for " shining " illegally , or if they just did n’t call back he had what it withdraw persist unknown .
However , whatever the issue was , it ’s been resolved since fan can now prescribe Tim ’s moonshine online on the ABC website . In an interview , Smith say that he find it a challenge to get his permit , saying , " It ’s kind of hard to tell someone that you ’re an illegal moonshiner strain to start a legal business .. ' if you ’re brewing something illegal now , then you ’re probably doing something illegal later , so we ’re not too tender of that idea " ( viaFox News ) .
Tickle Had Political Aspirations
He Wanted To Run For Congress
The president is n’t the only world TV star who had his eye on political science . Steven Tickle , a buff favorite on the show , also admitted that he considered hold up into politics . In 2012 , there was a promo forMoonshinerswhere Tickle " run for president , " but this turn out to be a good deal closer to the truth than the show ’s fans might have consider . Tickle said that he wanted to run for Congress in southern Virginia(viaWashington Examiner ) . This was at the same prison term that his spinoffTicklebegan cinematography for Discovery .
" I ’m pretty serious about it because I ’d care to take my condition of what I ’ve become on TV and be able to do some effective with it . And that would be a place where I could do good with it , you lie with , take care out for the man who I know who he is and he knows who I am . "
Tickle also said that he would work hard to go past legislation to legalize moonshine across the nation . However , he realized that the show was giving him a turgid platform and wanted to use that to make a positive alteration . This was a pretty honorable finish . He never did get around to it , though , since there were a kind of thing that catch in his elbow room .
Chico Was Allegedly Arrested For A DUI
He Managed To Get Off With Just A Fine
Popcorn Sutton was n’t the only member ofMoonshinerswho had issues with the law for something other than the illegal moonshining the chemical group is so notorious for . In 2015,Chico was allegedly nail for a DUIin Knott County ( viaTroublesome Creek Times ) . The report pronounce that he drove his vehicle into a crowd , after which the officer made him take a arena somberness test … which he fail . No one was hurt , but the police officer still said that Chico should n’t have been drive and ordered him to look in court .
Unlike Popcorn Sutton , though , Chico did n’t get any jail time . His attorney was capable to help him walk away with just a hunky-dory and judicature cost . harmonise to his lawyer , Chico was selling memorabilia from his SUV at the Fall Horse Trail Ride . He was moving his vehicle into status to deal his memorabilia when the constabulary officer approached him and demanded a gravity run . " He have it away the people of Knott County and he did n’t want to stimulate any negative promotion , " his lawyer sound out about the incident .
Maybe the appeal that ’s help Chico get so far also helped him out in court ?
Josh Owens Lost His Trailer In A Fire
His Fans Raised Money To Help Him
Before he was a bootlegger , Josh Owens used to be a professional motorbike and motocross racer . He still depend on his motorcycle on the show with his dog , Cutie Pie . Many viewers admitted they loved Cutie Pie as much as the human members of the show . Josh was coming back from a bike rally last August whenhe discovered that his trailer had caught on blast . Josh identify the event on hisFacebookpage .
" I am truly exhausted . It was very worked up clock time watching the trailer sunburn and not being able to discontinue it . The most important matter is that my crowd , myself and others around were not hurt . The items that were lose in the fire are all replaceable . "
It did n’t look like he ’d be able to recover the poke or any of his property , and his hand truck was damaged as well . Investigators were n’t trusted what had caused the fire . What is really telling is that Josh learned fan were trying to raise money to help him , and he rejected all financial help from the buff . He also warned people to beware of scams asking for money , because he wo n’t do that to his fans .
The Show Was Supposed To Be About Legal Moonshine
Things Changed Because It Would’ve Been Too Boring
There ’s one question that almost everyone has after watching an episode of the Discovery Channel reality show : IsMoonshinersreal , and why are they not arrested ? It seems like if you ’re being filmed making illegal moonshine , they would likely get in problem for it . The producers had the same thought , so the show was supposed to be about legal bootleg yield . It seemed too high-risk to make a show about illegal moonshine productionand not get everyone affect in bother .
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The original lurch to the connection was about legal distilleries that exist . There was just one problem – they realise it was going to be tedious . There was no way that they would have gotten the viewership phone number that they do now . impart Tim , who takes the camera into the woods and offers an inside look at something antecedently hide out , really took the show to the next level . Through the years , as moonshining has become more and more legal , the show has slowly morph into its originally planned motif .
Moonshiners’ Production Company Is Known For Creating Deceptive Content
It Makes It Hard To Believe In Moonshiners
Some people still are n’t convinced when necessitate ifMoonshinersis real . If they devote attention to the production credit , the production company might be one rationality why . Moonshinersis produced by Magilla Entertainment , a company based in New York . They ’re responsible for for several popular reality boob tube shows currently master the airwaves – butthey’re also behind a lot of deceptive “ written reality ” show .
Moonshinersis produced by Magilla Entertainment , a company based in New York .
Many fans accuseLong Island Mediumof being faux . Magilla also produces thing likeLakefront Bargain Hunt , where some participants actually bought their home old age before the show was tap , andSouthie Rules , about a multi - generational home place in South Boston , was clearly scripted " reality tv set " and only live on 11 episodes as a result . Other reality TV shows under the umbrella areAmerican Spirit , Jailhouse Redemption , andI Love A Mama ’s Boy . With those credits , many people remain suspicious ofMoonshiners .
Tickle Has Been Arrested At Least Three Times
His Charges Include Public Intoxication, Possession Of A Handgun & More
Tickle has n’t been able to catch a respite .
Tickle has n’t just been arrested once , but at least three times ( viaChatham Star - Tribute).First , he was arrested for public intoxication , then he was check for self-command of a sawed - off side arm , which a police officeholder found in the front seat of his car . After that , he was stop again for probation violation , after he intromit to drug utilization . Tickle ’s probation officeholder testified that she issue a major usurpation report for failure to abstain from the use of illegal drugs . The judge vacate his original three - twelvemonth sentence for the scattergun and made him dish five months of combat-ready time .
After his five months were up , he received 12 calendar month of probation and had to remain on " skilful behavior " for the next five year . Tickle say he had relapsed because his father had fallen inauspicious and had a unretentive time to survive . He accommodate that when he got out , he would keep working to help others and endeavor to lead by good example .
Tim Experienced His First Raid At Five Years Old
He Got An Early Look At Law Enforcement Crackdowns
Although he ’s been lucky enough to keep his criminal record clean , star Tim Smith is no unknown to law enforcement crackdowns , either . He learned the consequence of being caught early . Heexperienced his first foray at five years old when constabulary officer were investigating his father . Smith explained in an audience that when the police showed up , he had to seek and obscure the illegal moonshine from the authority .
" I was about five - years - old when my dad first got bust … I was running around , trying to obliterate the bootleg myself , before the agents come into the elbow room where we had the moonshine stored . It was my first raid , in which my dad was arrested in possession of bootleg . "
That ’s a lot of province to localise on a five - year - honest-to-goodness , and it left a self-aggrandizing enough impression on him that he still talk about it to this day . Since that time , Tim said he was always attempt to go straight and see a way to make corn liquor legally . However , asMoonshinersshows , that was easier said than done and he spent most of his life story hiding thing from law enforcement representation . " That ’s the way of life the mystery of moonshining is . Nobody knows what ’s going on , we just know something is go on . "
His daddy must have teach him well , though , since he managed to avoid the police force long enough to eventually become a sound moonshiner .
Sutton Ended His Life Before The Show Premiered
He Took His Own Life Before The Show Premiered
Zea mays everta Sutton never did serve the calendar month in prison that he was doom to for illegally distil spirits and monomania of a handgun as a felon . Casual viewers may not have realized thathe died by felo-de-se years beforeMoonshinersever premier . The clips the show utilise arefrom an obscure documentary shoot in 2002that cemented his place as a bootlegging legend . Sutton was n’t willing to serve time in slammer . Instead of reporting for his eighteen - month prison sentence , he died by self-annihilation via C monoxide poisoning just twenty-four hour period before his conviction was supposed to start .
His daughter told his married woman that he had said in advance that he would rather die . While some people object to the show using Sutton ’s likeness when he obviously was n’t around to give permit , others think that it ’s only right for him to be include since he was such a big figure in the moonshine residential district . If anything , the show treated Sutton and his legacy with respect .
Discovery Won’t Say Whether The Show Is True Or Not
The Mystery Is Part Of The Fun
IsMoonshinersreal or is some of it tell on for the television camera ? Discovery Channel refuses to reveal its arcanum . Fans who are curious about what they ’ve just watch might scan the credits for a low - print disavowal admitting that everything is not as it seems . They would n’t find anything , though . However , there is one thing that might be a touch . Discovery Channel heel the show as a docudrama , which means it is not a pure documentary , and it does use dramatisation to state its taradiddle . Even so , Discovery resist to put a disclaimer in the credit .
The cast is n’t about to say anything , either – mostly because they ca n’t . They ’re contractually hold under non - disclosure agreements not to get specific about what is or is n’t true on the show . They ’ll let the cat out of the bag about howMoonshinerscould be getting aside with showing illegal natural action , or say that they ’re all illegal moonshiners in real aliveness , but do n’t outright confirm or deny that some scene might be staged .
