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\n Photo: Jeffrey Vest\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
It\u2019s only been a month since Dolly Parton\u2019s death<\/a> following a brief battle with cancer, and both the nation and the world mourned her passing<\/a>. Parton touched us all with her upbeat spirit, her personality, and her songs. Tributes poured in from Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, the governor of Tennessee, and even former president Barack Obama. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine many people having a bigger impact than Dolly Parton,\u201d Obama wrote. Her legacy lives on: September 25 is being celebrated as Dolly Parton 9 to 5 Day in her honor, and Kacey Musgraves is set to perform a tribute to Parton this Sunday at the 43rd annual MTV Video Music Awards<\/a>. But amid these celebrations, family drama has come to the forefront thanks to a rift with Parton\u2019s nephew, Bryan Seaver, who is a self-proclaimed \u201cinternational arms dealer\u201d and \u201cmercenary.\u201d He has now been banned from Parton property, and a restraining order and a lawsuit have been filed. Things in the Smokies seem to be unraveling.<\/p>\n When Parton\u2019s death was announced on her official Instagram account by her nephew Bryan Seaver, the son of Parton\u2019s younger sister Cassie, he appeared to be a reliable spokesperson for the late star and her legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven\u2019t truly felt it until now,\u201d Seaver said in the video<\/a>. \u201cIt is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly \u2026 My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, and so have you.\u201d Prior to Parton\u2019s death, she employed Seaver to provide security services to her and her properties through his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services.<\/p>\n While the family appeared to be putting on a united front, behind the scenes, things were far from harmonious. Employees were afraid to come to work and some were allegedly quitting, according to Parton\u2019s longtime manager, Danny Nozell, who oversees her She\u2019s Alive corporation, which was established to protect her property and business interests after her death. Nozell claimed that after Parton\u2019s death, Seaver sent threatening text messages to Parton\u2019s staff, partners, and legal and business advisers, causing them to feel unsafe, according to a complaint filed in Chancery Court in Tennessee on September 22.<\/p>\n Court documents allege that while Seaver provided security services to Parton during her lifetime, he had also created his own \u201cparamilitary-style\u201d security force company called Called Squadron Augment Protection Services (SAPS) with personnel who were heavily armed and \u201chad ready access to an arsenal of military-grade weaponry and ammunition.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit claims Seaver threatened to take down Parton\u2019s brand unless his demands were met. He allegedly sent threatening text messages, screenshots of which were attached to the court papers.\u201cI\u2019m going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly\u2019s brand partnerships and telling the violations these people have done,\u201d one screenshot reads. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be great. Or fucking pay me. I don\u2019t have the fucking publishing or anything. I have the actual story.\u201d<\/p>\n Seaver reportedly sent a text message to Nozell threatening to \u201cdestroy the entire brand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t get these [Dollywood business partners] out of our bit \u2026 I\u2019m going to go to Billboard Magazine with my shit. Just like you,\u201d a screenshot of the purported text reads. \u201cI\u2019m going to ratfuck every [Dollywood business partner] entity that I can possibly conjure.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorneys for Parton\u2019s estate in their court filing said Seaver\u2019s threatening statements included claiming that he was \u201ca mercenary,\u201d that \u201call I do is warfare,\u201d and that\u00a0 \u201ceveryone needs to be worried about what I might do.\u201d Seaver also allegedly professed to be an international arms dealer, telling Novell in one text, \u201cI\u2019m a killer. I sold 27 million $ worth of ammunition and arms to the Haitian Police on the day Dolly died,\u201d according to a screenshot of the supposed text.<\/p>\n \u201cI am vengeance for my people for the next 50 years. I have no debt. I only own swords and guns. My children have 3 houses to live in forever. My wife owns everything. All I have is animosity and memory,\u201d the screenshot goes on. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to spend the time I have on earth ratfucking anyone that has ever betrayed my family.\u201d<\/p>\n Seaver has not responded to a request for comment, but his aunt Freida, a younger sister of Parton\u2019s, said in an Instagram<\/a> post that there was no family beef, defending Seaver.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll say this and this only: there is no feud within our family. No one among the Parton\/Owens family is fighting over Dolly\u2019s estate. We all love Bryan, just as we all love each other.\u201d<\/p>\n