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News Briefs
Accused Birmingham Bomber Bobby Cherry Found Mentally Competent For Trial 5/31 Bobby Frank Cherry, a former Ku Klux Klan member charged in the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls, has been found to be mentally fit for trial by a court-appointed doctor. Previous reports from a defense expert and a court-appointed doctor, found Cherry, 71, incompetent for trial. Judge James Garrett has set a hearing for July 9 to hear medical testimony and decide if Cherry can stand trial for the murders of Addie Mae Collins, 14; Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; Cynthia Wesley, 14. Cherry's trial was postponed to allow time for the evaluations.
Addie Mae Collins, 14; Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; Cynthia Wesley, 14 Previous reports found that Cherry suffers from vascular dementia. His lawyer, Mickey Johnson, said Cherry has had a stroke and has trouble remembering things correctly and cannot assist in his defense. U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, who is prosecuting Cherry in state court, said the hearing provides the prosecution with the opportunity to present evidence that Cherry can be tried. Jones said details of Cherry's condition will be revealed at the hearing. Cherry's co-defendant, Thomas Blanton, was convicted of the murders and bombing on May , and was sentenced to life in prison. Blanton is appealing the jury's verdict. McVeigh To Decide
Whether to Appeal on Friday 5/30 Convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh
will decide on Friday whether he will file an appeal and delay his
scheduled Jun 11 execution. Rob Nigh, one of McVeigh’s attorneys, will meet
with McVeigh Thursday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana,
to seek his approval on motions the defense team has prepared.
“If he gives his permission to file something, we’ll
probably file something tomorrow.
We’re in the process of drafting the paperwork,” Nigh said.
“You can certainly anticipate it will request a stay.” In December, 2000, McVeigh requested that all
appeals be stopped, and an execution date of May 16 was set. McVeigh’s execution date was postponed until June 11 by
Attorney General John Ashcroft after the Justice Department informed
McVeigh’s attorneys that the FBI had withheld over 3000 pages of
evidence from McVeigh’s trial attorneys. On the CBS program “60 Minutes II” last
night, former FBI agent Ricardo Ojeda said that the FBI ignored
evidence that could have helped the defense, and had gone so far as to
write Sen. Charles Grassley of his concerns about corruption and
discrimination in FBI field offices.
“I am also aware of instances in other cases, including the
Oklahoma City bombing, where exculpatory evidence was ignored and not
documented. Including
exculpatory evidence I personally gathered from leads assigned to
me,” Ojeda wrote. “That
information should, at the minimum, change the course of this case in
the near future,” Nigh said on CBS. Ojeda said he was fired by the FBI after he
testified against them in a discrimination case against FBI
management. FBI Deputy
Director Tom Pickard responded to Ojeda’s allegations.
“Because he is no longer on the rolls, former Agent Ojeda
would not know his concerns are unfounded.” Attorney General Ashcroft said the Justice
Department would oppose any request by McVeigh to delay his execution. “After an exhaustive review, it remains clear that none of
the belatedly produced material raises any doubt about McVeigh’s
guilt,” said Ashcroft in a statement released Wednesday. Both of McVeigh’s co-conspirators, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier, have filed motions and other legal actions since the discovery of the missing material. Fortier’s attorneys have now filed with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals a motion for reconsideration of their March decision on Fortier’s 12 year sentence. The Court, at that time, rejected arguments that the trial court judge was vindictive and the sentence improperly exceeded sentencing guidelines. In the new filing, Fortier attorney Michael McGuire said that prosecutors misrepresented the facts to serve the politically expedient goal of ensuring the harshest sentence possible. During sentencing, prosecutors argued that Fortier’s sentence should exceed the guidelines because of the magnitude of the crimes. Germany to Compensate Nazi-Era Slave Laborers 5/30 Germany’s Parliament voted Wednesday to
free payments from a $4.6 billion fund to pay surviving Nazi-era slave
laborers. More than one
million survivors of Nazi slave labor, most of them Eastern Europeans,
are expected to benefit from the legislation. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said payment of the
fund to the survivors of the Nazi slave labor camps was “the last
great open chapter of our historical responsibility.”
Over 300,000 applications for the funds have been received.
The average payment to the survivors should be approximately
$6700. Germany has paid $60 billion in restitution for persons who have suffered at the hands of the Nazis, but German companies have long denied responsibility for the use slave labor, claiming they were pressured by the Nazi government. Under pressure from US lawsuits, German businesses and industry agreed with the German government on fund financing in December, 1999, and an accord was signed last July that protected German businesses from lawsuits. Millennium Ahmed Ressam, who was arrested shortly before New
Years, 2000 trying to cross in to the United States from Canada with a
car loaded with explosives, is now talking to prosecutors and
investigators about his role in the plot to bomb buildings in Seattle,
Los Angeles and San Francisco on New Year’s Eve. Ressam is giving investigators information about
the continuing investigation into the Montreal-based terrorist cell of
Islamic militants and its ties to Osama bin Ladin.
Yesterday, four members of bin Ladin’s group were convicted
in New York of bombing two U.S. Embassies in Africa in 1998, bombings
that killed 224 people and wounded at least 5000. Ressam was tried and convicted of nine counts of
conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism and related
charges. He faces 140
years in prison for his crimes. He
is due to be sentenced on June 28, but that sentencing date may be
postponed because Ressam is now cooperating with authorities.
Ressam may be a witness at the upcoming trial of a co-consiprator,
Mokhar Haouari, who is scheduled to go on trial in New York on June
26. Haouari’s lawyer, Daniel Ollen, said he had not been
informed that Ressam will testify against his client, adding,
“It’s one thing to be a terrorist. It’s another to be a
terrorist and a rat.” An attorney for another co-conspirator, Abdelghani Meskini,
said that he was “surprised Ressam hadn’t started down that road a
long time ago.” Roland
Thau’s client cooperated with authorities and Meskini testified
against Ressam as part of his plea bargain. At Ressam’s trial, Meskini testified Haouari
told him to travel to New York to Seattle to meet Ressam and provide
him with financial and logistical support.
Meskini was arrested before they could meet, so Meskini’s
knowledge of the bomb plot was limited.
Thau said because Haouari and Ressam were associates,
Ressam’s testimony against Haouari should be devastating.
Ressam may also be able to tell investigators about the role of
another co-conspirator, Abdelmajid Dahoumane.
Dahoumane has never been caught. Ressam was arrested on December 14, 1999, while trying to cross into the United States at Port Angeles, Washington. An alert customs agent noticed that Ressam was nervous and stopped him as his car drove off a ferry from British Columbia. The customs agents found 130 pounds of explosives in Ressam’s rental car, along with four homemade timing devices. They also learned that Ressam had reserved a motel room near Seattle’s Space Needle. Because of the threat, the millennium celebration in Seattle was cancelled. In Ressam’s car, authorities also found a tour book of California, with Ressam’s fingerprints on a map of downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Transamerica Tower. During a search of Ressam’s Montreal apartment, Canadian authorities found a map of southern California, with circles around Los Angeles International Airport, and airports at Long Beach and Ontario, California airports. The prosecution was not able to establish Ressam’s target or targets. Taliban Refuses
to Turn Over Osama bin Ladin 5/30 Lauding Osama bin Ladin as “a great holy
warrior of Islam and a great benefactor of the Afghan people,” the
Taliban, Afghanistan’s ruling party, said Wednesday.
The conviction of the four men in the U.S. Embassy bombings was
“unfair” and the Taliban vowed never to turn over bin Ladin, said
Abdul Anan Himat, a senior official at the Taliban Information
ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan. “America is using the issues of terrorism, drugs and human
rights as an excuse against Afghanistan,” he said. The Taliban has refused to turn bin Ladin over to
the United States because the U.S. has no evidence proving bin
Ladin’s links to terrorism and that giving bin Ladin to a non-Muslim
country would violate the tenets of Islam. In a statement issued last month to a convention of 200,000 students from Muslim nations, bin Ladin said, “Issue a call to the young generation to get ready for the holy war and to prepare for that in Afghanistan because jihad in this time of crisis for Muslims is an obligation of all Muslims.” State
Department Warns Americans of Terrorist Attacks 5/30 Following the convictions of four men in the U.S.
Embassy bombings, the U.S. State Department has urged Americans
traveling overseas to maintain a high level of vigilance and take
steps to increase their security awareness.
The statement was a reaffirmation of a May 11 warning that
Americans abroad might be the target of a terrorist threat from groups
with links to Osama bin Ladin’s Al Qaida organization. “Americans should maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and treat mail and packages from unfamiliar sources with suspicion. In addition, American citizens are also urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of the objects to local authorities.” The travel warning also said that vehicles should not be left unattended, if possible, and should be kept locked at all times. The warning also added that U.S. government facilities may have to close or suspend public services as necessary to review their security. Four Guilty in
U.S. Embassy Bombings 5/29 Four followers of terrorist leader Osama
bin-Laden were found guilty of a broad terrorist conspiracy to commit
murder in the bombings of U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania after a four and one half month trial and twelve days
of jury deliberations. The
bombings occurred on August 7, 1998 and left 224 people dead and more
than 5000 people wounded. The four men, Mohamed Rashed Daouid al-‘Owhahi
from Saudi Arabi, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed from Tanzania, Mohammed
Saddiq Odeh from Jordan, and Wadih El-Hage who is a naturalized U.S.
citizen, originally from Lebanon, were convicted in a 302-count
indictment in the Southern District of Manhattan Court around noon,
Tuesday. Two of the men,
al-‘Owhali and K. K. Mohamed, face the death penalty.
The death penalty phase of the trial is to start on Wednesday
and is expected to last about a month. The prosecution called more than 90 witnesses and
showed the jury hundreds of exhibits, including bombing debris,
pictures of the houses where the bombs were made, the clothing of the
defendants with explosives residue, phone and travel records,
passports, letters and pictures of the victims.
Testimony came from witnesses who had survived the bombings.
Most damning were the statements of the defendants made after
their arrests. Although
the defense tried to get these statements suppressed, the judge
allowed their statements into evidence.
The prosecution also offered a history of Osama bin Laden’s
Afghanistan-based organization, al Qaeda, and bin Laden’s intent to
kill Americans. Two
defectors from bin Laden’s group testified about the ideology,
structure, businesses and headquarters of the group, including bases
in Afghanistan and Sudan. The
prosecution also established the defendant’s ties to bin Laden,
including training in weapons and explosives of three defendants,
al-‘Owhali, Mohamed, and Odeh. El Hage worked for businesses owned by bin Laden and was
accused of being bin Laden’s personal assistant. Osama bin Laden and seventeen others are indicted in this case (see the FBI’s page on embassy bombings). Thirteen of the men under indictment remain at large; five other defendants are either in U.S. or British custody. Because of the United States’ use of the death penalty, the Supreme Court of South Africa ruled that the extradition of Khalfan Khamis Mohamed was unconstitutional because he could be sentenced to death. Casey
Martin, Disabled Golfer, Wins Right to Use Golf Cart on Pro Tour
5/29 In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Casey Martin has a legal right to use a golf cart on PGA Tour events. The Justices ruled that a federal disability-bias
law requires the Professional Golfers Association to waive its
requirement that players walk during their tournaments.
In the decision written by Justice John Paul Stevens, Stevens
said that Congress intended an organization like the PGA to give
consideration to disabled golfers.
The Court ruled that the rule is not fundamental to the game of
golf. Dissenting were Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence
Thomas. Scalia wrote in
dissent, “In my view today’s opinion exercises a benevolent
compassion that the law does not place it within our power to
impose.” The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act bans
discrimination against the disabled in public accommodations,
including golf courses and entertainment sites, and requires
“reasonable modifications” for disabled persons unless such
changes would fundamentally alter the place or event.
Stevens wrote that such organizations like the PGA should
“carefully weigh the purpose, as well as the letter” of its rules
before rejecting the requests of golfers who want to use carts or
other accommodations. Martin suffers from a circulatory disorder in his
right leg, Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome and the disorder makes it
painful for him to walk long distances.
He sued the PGA in 1997, citing the ADA.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Martin in
March, 2000. The
following day, the 7th Circuit ruled against an Indiana
golfer, Ford Olinger, who sued the U.S. Golf Association for the right
to use a cart in the U.S. Open qualifying.
That court said the cart would change the nature of
competition. Golfers Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were
critical of any golfer using a cart.
Martin’s fellow collegiate golfer at Stanford, Tiger Woods,
said that when he and Martin roomed together on road trips, Martin
would be in so much pain that he couldn’t get up to use the
bathroom. The case is PGA Tour v. Martin, 00-24. Rep.
John Lewis Wins Profiles in Courage Lifetime Achievement Award
5/22 Rep. John Lewis,
who represents the 5th District of Georgia, won the
Profiles in Courage Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday at the John
Fitzgerald. Kennedy Library in Boston. Lewis, who was
honored for a lifetime of dedication to the Civil Rights Movement, was
a son of Alabama sharecroppers who rose to become a congressman. Inbetween, Lewis became the chairman of the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and was recently honored for
his role as one of the 1961 Freedom Riders, desegregating bus stations
in the Deep South. While
a Freedom Rider, Lewis risked his life and was beaten severely by
racist mobs. John Seigenthaler, a former administrative assistant to
Attorney General Robert Kennedy, said he called the SNCC organizer to
stop Lewis’ bus to stop because the Attorney General thought that in
the wake of the firebombing of a Freedom Rider bus in Birmingham,
Alabama, someone might get killed.
Seigenthaler was told by the organizer, “They all signed
their wills last night.” At a forum after
the ceremony, Lewis said, “I was maladjusted to the issue of
segregation…I used to ask my mother, my father, my grandmother,
‘Why?’ And they would say that’s just the way it is.” But
it did not stay that way very long. In 1964, Lewis
coordinated the SNCC to organize voter registration drives and
community action programs during the Mississippi Freedom Summer.
In 1965, Lewis, along with Hosea Williams, led over 600
marchers over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on a day
that became known as Bloody Sunday.
Alabama state troopers attacked the civil rights marchers whose
only offense was to protest barriers to black voter registration.
Lewis also spoke at the March on Washington in 1963 along with
Martin Luther King Jr. That
march and a march between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, led to the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lewis has been arrested over 40 times,
sustained physical attacks and beatings, but he has never wavered in
his devotion to non-violence, and protecting human rights, his belief
in an integrated society and describes himself as a coalition builder. Since being first elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1981, Lewis ran and won a seat in Congress in 1986. Lewis is also an author. His book, Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, with Michael D'Orso, is published by Harcourt (ISBN: 0156007088). Acceptance
Speech by Congressman John Lewis Profiles in
Courage Lifetime Achievement Award May 21, 2001 Boston,
Massachusetts Caroline Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, President Ford and Mrs.
Ford, members of the Selection Committee, Trustees of the John F.
Kennedy Library Foundation, family and friends. I am humbled by
this honor and very pleased to be here with you on this special
occasion marking the work and life of a courageous and humane man of
politics and letters -- President John F. Kennedy. I feel
lucky. I feel more than lucky, I feel truly blessed to receive this
award and I feel very blessed to still be here. While you honor me
today for a lifetime of achievement, I cannot forget those whose lives
were cut short: the three young civil rights workers in
Mississippi----Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney and Andy Goodman.
President Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. Dr. Martin Luther King, Medgar
Evers. So many lives cut short. We must remember them. We are indebted
to them. Just a week
ago, I participated in the 40th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides. With
20 men and women who dared to tear down the walls of segregation in
1961, we rode again on a greyhound bus through the Deep South. We
retraced our journey from Atlanta to Anniston, Alabama to Birmingham
and then to Montgomery. Forty years
ago, I did what I thought was right when I went on the Freedom Rides
in 1961. We wanted to test a Supreme Court ruling that banned
segregation in an interstate travel facility. When the bus arrived in
Rock Hill, South Carolina, I deboarded the bus and approached the
white waiting room. We were being watched and someone pointed to the
"colored sign." I said: "I have a right to be here on
the grounds of the Supreme Court decision in the Boynton case."
Seconds later, I was attacked and the blood of another battle in the
struggle for civil rights was drawn. I will never, ever forget that
moment. I was 21. I was a sharecropper’s son from a farm near Troy,
Alabama. Yet somehow I learned that where there is injustice, you
cannot ignore the call of conscience. On this very day
----May 21, 1961----exactly forty years ago-- the freedom riders were
trapped in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery.
The day before, we had been surrounded by a sea of people at the
Montgomery Greyhound bus station -- a mob shouting and screaming, men
swinging fists, baseball bats, lead pipes -- and others throwing
stones -- women swinging heavy purses -- little children clawing with
their fingernails at the faces of anyone they could reach. It was madness.
It was unbelievable. We thought we were going to die. Somewhere in my
youth I remember hearing: "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy
cometh in the morning." That night at
First Baptist, exactly forty years ago today, was a long, long night.
If we continued the Freedom Ride, we would face arrest or worst. And
if we stopped the Rides, freedom would be denied. An angry mob
surrounded the church – throwing stones and firebombs, overturning
cars, even pounding on the walls of the sanctuary. While we prayed and
sang freedom songs, President Kennedy and the Attorney General
desperately negotiated with the Governor of Alabama – fighting for
our safety. It was our sorrow
and the nation’s sorrow for that night. And for many more nights to
come, the American people -- indeed the world -- would witness many
more beatings, jailing and even the killing of non-violent protesters
daring a better America. So on May 21,
1961, I remembered: "Sorrow may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." By that morning,
joy had come to us: President Kennedy made a bold and courageous
decision to federalize the Alabama National Guard. He also sent in
federal marshals to protect us. We would make it to Jackson
Mississippi. But we could not have done so without the help of
President Kennedy and his brother, the Attorney General. Until joy came in
the morning after the long dark sorrow of her soul, America could not
be America. The joy of morning comes not by our will but by what I
call the Spirit of History -- It sweeps us up and commands us to
answer hate and fear with love and courage. Courage is a
reflection of the heart -- It is a reflection of something deep within
the man or woman or even a child who must resist and must defy an
authority that is morally wrong. Courage makes us march on despite
fear and doubt on the road toward justice. Courage is not heroic but
as necessary as birds need wings to fly. Courage is not rooted in
reason but rather Courage comes from a divine purpose to make things
right. Marching across
the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, we weren’t supposed to make to
Montgomery in 1963. But we did. Arriving in
Montgomery on a Greyhound Bus, we met angry mobs. We were left for
dead on the cold pavement. But we continued
our journey. Seeking to
register blacks during Freedom Summer in Mississippi, three young
civil rights workers were taken from their jail cell left on a dark
country road and murdered in the darkness of night. But we could not
be stopped. Hundreds more students joined us that summer. In building a new
America, we saw a vision then as we do now of the Beloved Community.
Consider those two words. "Beloved" means not hateful, not
violent, not uncaring, not unkind. And "Community" means not
separated, not polarized, not locked in struggle. Beaten and tired but
not defeated, our hopes could not be dimmed. People often ask,
how did others and I continue our non-violent protests through the
sixties with the likelihood that we would be beaten, imprisoned or
even killed. President Kennedy is my best answer to this question. In
1963 he said "The question of race is a moral issue. It is as old
as the scripture itself." When you stand up
to injustice. When you refuse to let brute force crush you. When you
love the man who spits on you or calls you names or puts a lighted
cigarette in your hair. You come to believe that righteousness will
always prevail. Just hold on. We -- and I mean
countless thousands and even millions of Americans -- changed old wine
into new. We tore down the walls of racial division. We inspired a
generation of creative non-violent protest. And we are still building
a new America -- a Beloved America, a community at peace with itself
in Beloved Boston, Beloved Cincinnati, Beloved Washington, Beloved
Atlanta and in every Beloved city, town, village and hamlet in our
nation and in the world. Yes, our world can become a Beloved World. A
world not divided but united. I am deeply
touched by the honor you have given me today but we cannot forget the
unsung heroes who cared deeply, sacrificed much and fought hard for a
better America. For the brave men and women who stood in unmovable
lines because they were determined to vote. For those who expressed
themselves by sitting down in Montgomery, in Nashville, in Birmingham
and throughout the south, they were fighting for a just and open
society. For the black and white freedom riders who rode a bus, faced
angry mobs, survived a burning bus and slept for days on the cold
floor of a jail cell, they too must be looked upon as the founding
mothers and fathers of a new America. As we begin a new century, we must move our feet, our hands, our hearts, our resources to build and not to tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill. I hope and pray that we continue our daring drive to work toward the Beloved Community. It is still within our reach. Keep your eyes on the Prize. National
Alliance Stickers Removed from York, Pennsylvania Streets 5/21 One day
after the street signs, parking meters and payphones of downtown York,
Pennsylvania were covered with bright orange stickers from the racist
and anti-semitic group National Alliance, the residents and police had
removed most of them. The
stickers, which say, “Earth’s Most Endangered Species:
The White Race. Help
preserve it,” carried a Hagerstown, Maryland phone number. “I’m
really proud of the citizens of York,” said York Police Sgt. Gene
Fells. “They showed they were not going to put up with this type
of behavior.” Whoever
posted the stickers could face arrest on charges of criminal mischief. The
stickers appeared a few days after the arrest of York Mayor Charlie
Robertson and seven other white men for the 1969 murder of
African American Lillie Belle Allen during the city’s race riots.
The neo-Nazi National
Alliance is led by William Pierce, Hillsboro, West Virginia, and is
labeled a dangerous hate group by the Center for the Study of Hate and
Extremism and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and is described as the
most active hate group on the Internet.
Pierce is the author of “The Turner Dairies,” a book about
a race war ending with the bombing of a federal building, which was
found in possession of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh after his
arrest. Pierce said that the Hagerstown MD chapter probably posted the stickers in response to the arrests in York. The Hagerstown National Alliance chapter leader, Craig Jackson, did not respond for comment. Pierce said the Hagerstown chapter had about 30 members. Williams
Brothers The arson trial
of Matthew Williams and his brother Tyler Williams will not be moved
from Sacramento, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr., ruled on
Friday. The brothers are
charged with setting fire to three synagogues in the Sacramento area,
and a fire at a medical building that houses an abortion clinic. They are also charged in the double murder of a gay couple
and face the death penalty for those murders. Burrell ruled
that the pre-trial publicity cited by the defense did not show the
“deeply rooted pattern of prejudice” necessary to prove the jury
pool has been tainted. Although
the defense had surveyed people in the 23 county area that could be
called for the jury, the defense did not ask a survey question that
inquired whether persons who were polled could ignore what they had
heard about the defendants and if they could decide the case on what
happens in court is a fatal flaw.
The judge also ruled that most newspaper readers did not see a
high percentage of the articles from the Sacramento Be and the Redding
Record-Searchlight, and that most of the articles appeared in 1999,
which cuts against a presumption of prejudice.
The judge also refused to regard articles of community support
and sympathy for the victims, and that Matthew Williams’ publicized
jailhouse confessions to the arsons and the murders were not
prejudicial to his brother, Tyler. Defense attorneys
had wanted the trial moved to Portland or Fresno.
The arson trial is scheduled to begin on July 17th.
The state trial for the murders of Gary Matson and Winfield
Mowder is scheduled to begin on September 19th. Matthew Williams
is a self-professed racist, anti-semite and homophobe. In jailhouse interviews, he admitted the murders of Matson
and Mowder and to the arsons of the B’Nai Israel, Congregation Beth
Shalom and Kenesset Torah Center.
Matthew Williams met with members of the National Alliance at
Cal Preparedness Expo in Sacramento, has corresponded with the
National Alliance and has distributed hate literature at area
businesses and dropped leaflets around four Redding-area high schools
on April 20, 1999, Adolph Hitler’s birthday.
Matthew Williams threatened to wear a Nazi uniform to his
trial. His brother,
Tyler, has not spoken to the press. During a
three-month period in 1999, during which the Williams brothers are
alleged to have committed their arsons and murders, World Church of
the Creator member Benjamin Smith went on a shooting spree in Illinois
and Indiana, shooting 11 Jews, Asian Americans and African Americans,
killing two, and Buford Furrow, former Ayran Nations guard, shot and
wounded five people, including three children, and killed Joseph Ileto,
because he was not white and was working for the federal government.
Ileto was a mail carrier.
“There’s a
term in the hate movement called ‘propaganda of the deed,’ where
one hate crime inspires another, “said Prof. Brian Levin, director
of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
“It’s the whole leaderless resistance thing where one
terrorist inspires another they don’t even know.
And we have a small number of susceptible ticking time bombs
out there.” Teen
Skinheads Held in Racial Intimidation, Burglaries 5/20 Six
skinhead teenagers were arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff
Department for a six month crime wave.
The teens were arrested in Canyon Country on Wednesday and were
arraigned on a number of charges on Thursday. Arrested were
David Eugene Lampman, 18, three 17-year-olds and two 16-year olds. The names of the juveniles were not released.
Lampman and his
co-defendants are accused of a racist hate crime spree that includes
racial intimidation, burglarizing or vandalizing hundreds of cars, and
setting off hundreds of explosions.
The explosions were described as “practice runs,” and some
of the explosions were used to intimidate minorities. The Sheriff’s department continues to investigate the gang. Sacramento
Property Owner Convicted of Hate Crime Against Tenants 5/19 Debbie
Susan Arbuckle, 49, was convicted of committing a hate crime against
African American tenants in that had lived in Arbuckle’s mobile home
park un Thursday. Arbuckle
was convicted of starting a fire that set the mobile home of Grace
Finch, her son, Robert and her father.
A Sacramento Metro Fire Department arson investigator testified
that the burn patterns showed the fire was deliberately set.
Finch, her son and three tenants of the mobile home park
testified that Arkbuckle had made racist threats and threatened to
burn the Finch trailer if they didn’t move out.
Arbuckle denied making the remarks and threats. Arbuckle faces two years in jail and will be sentenced on June 8. Hate
Crimes Conference: Ismael
Ileto, Morris Casuto To Speak on Hate Crimes at Cal State-San
Bernardino May 19th Ismael
Ileto, whose brother Joseph Ileto, was senselessly murdered by a
neo-Nazi spree killer, Bonnie Jouhari, a civil rights activist who was
targeted by the KKK and white supremacists on the web, and Morris
Casuto, a leading expert on hate crimes, hate groups and responses to
hate violence from the Anti-Defamation League, will be keynote
speakers at a Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism and
Hatemonitor.org conference on May 19 at Cal State-San Bernardino. The Conference
will be held in Jack Brown 102 from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. An Inland
Empire conference on Hate Crime—Characteristics and Community
Responses is co-sponsored by the Western Inland Empire Coalition
Against Hate, Catholic Charities of San Bernardino/Riverside and the
Diocese of San Bernardino/Riverside.
Ileto,
whose brother was a postal worker targeted because he was non-white,
has dedicated his life to ridding the world of the hate that hurt his
family. This self-proclaimed “regular guy” created an
organization in his brother’s name called “Join Our Struggle,
Educate to Prevent The, Instill Love, Equality, Tolerance for Others
(Joseph Ileto). His
tireless advocacy has lead him to speak before numerous conferences
and universities, as well as leaders from the President on down.
He is a member of the Attorney General’s Commission on Hate
Crime and has appeared in the national media. Jouhari, who was
targeted by white supremacists and the KKK, was targeted by them for
intimidation for her activism. She
fought back in the Courts and won a one million dollar judgment. Casuto, who is
the regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, San Diego, is a
sponsor of the San Diego Hate Crimes Registry.
Casuto is one of the nation's leading experts on hate crime,
hate groups, and responses to hate violence. As longtime director of
San Diego's Anti-Defamation League he led crucial efforts to expose
and monitor some of the nation's most notorious hatemongers. He was
also instrumental in establishing a regional anti-hate network in San
Diego that has become a national model. He is a member of the Attorney
General's Commission on Hate Crime, White House Conference on Hate
Crime and the recipient of numerous awards. Mr. Casuto's expertise has
been featured in national and local media and he is one of the ADL's
most popular speakers. Other speakers at the conference include Prof. Brian Levin, Criminal Justice Department, Calif. State Univ., San Bernardino, Director, Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism; Captain Michael Kinsman, San Bernardino Police Department, Co-Chair, Western Inland Empire Coalition Against Hate; David St. Pierre, Riverside Human Relations Commission, Co-Chair, Western Inland Empire Coalition Against Hate; Dr. Robert Gill, University of California, Riverside and Board Member of the Western Inland Empire Coalition Against Hate. Clayton Waagner Spotted Robbing Bank Near Harrisburg PA 5/19
Jail mug shot of Clayton Waagner Clayton Waagner, a jail escapee who said he was on a mission from God to kill abortion providers, was recognized on surveillance tape robbing a bank in Lower Paxton Township PA, near Harrisburg. Waagner is alleged to have used a handgun in the
robbery, “so we consider him a threat to the public, “said U.S.
Marshal Robert Moore of the Springfield IL office.
A Harrisburg PA police officer saw the tape and recognized
Waagner from TV broadcasts of Waagner on "America's Most Wanted. Waagner is on the U.
S. Marshal's 15 Most Wanted. Waagner has been the subject of a massive manhunt
since he escaped from the DeWitt County IL jail in February. Waagner, 44, who was convicted of federal weapons and vehicle
threat charges, has a criminal record dating back to his teens.
He has been frequently profiled on “America’s Most
Wanted” since his February escape through a jail roof opening. According to Detective Sgt. Dick Toth of Lower
Paxton Township, Waagner allegedly walked into the bank without using
a disguise and demanded money from the teller.
Waagner left with several thousand dollars. Waiting in the parking lot of the bank was a
mid-1970’s Volvo with Texas license plates.
The driver was under the car’s hood until Waagner left the
bank, then the hood was closed and the car sped away.
The car appeared to be crammed wiith Waagner’s
belongings. “A lot of
people took notice of this car that it was loaded to the gills,”
said Toth. Waagner was arrested September 12, 1999 in Illinois with his wife and eight children in a stolen Winnebago with four stolen handguns under the driver’s seat. During Waagner’s trial, he used an insanity defense, saying he was getting messages from God to kill abortion providers. Waagner said he decided to kill abortion providers after a daughter had miscarried in her sixth month of pregnancy. Waagner is a hero among extremist anti-abortion groups like the Army of God. May 17 Marks 47th Anniversary of Landmark Integration Case, Brown v. Board of Education 5/17
The lead case was brought on behalf of an 11 year old African-American school student, Linda Brown, who was required by the Topeka, Kansas school board to attend a segregated school. The Brown decision was the Court's first ruling to overturn the "separate but equal" doctrine first upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case of
Plessy v.
Ferguson. While technically the Brown case applied only to public schools, it laid the Constitutional philosophical foundation used to overturn racial segregation in an array of cases since. The Brown case and its philosophical opposite,
Dred Scott v. Sanford (which upheld slavery), are considered by legal scholars and historians as the two most important Supreme Court decisions in American history. For more reading:Crusaders in the Courts: How a Dedicated Band of Lawyers Fought for the Civil Rights Revolution
Branch Davidian Stopped Near Oklahoma City National Memorial 5/16 A member of the Branch Davidians was stopped and her truck searched near Oklahoma City National Memorial, which honors the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, after police received a call about a suspicious truck. Amo Paul Bishop Roden from Waco, Texas, said she was on her way back to Waco from a church camp meeting in Missouri when she was spotted driving erratically. Buildings near the Memorial were temporarily evacuated and two streets were blocked off while police examined Roden's truck. Roden was the common-law wife of George Roden, the son of Branch Davidian founders Ben and Lois Roden. George Roden was leader of the group until losing out to David Koresh, who led the sect at the time of the 1993 standoff with government agents. Roden's truck was plastered with anti-government bumper stickers including "Revenge for Waco," and "Waco, Texas, and Oklahoma City are where the one world government shot itself in the foot," pictures of the Branch Davidian compound on fire. Roden said she blames the government for the destruction at Waco and Oklahoma City and did not condone the bombing saying, "It's never an excuse to harm a Christian child." Timothy McVeigh said he bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after the fire at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. McVeigh was scheduled to die by lethal injection today. Police spotted Roden's vehicle parked a half a block from the Memorial, then saw Roden walk to the Memorial fence. As Roden cried, a police officer approached her. She was detained for two hours while police searched the truck. The FBI also questioned Roden. Police cited the P-38 military can opener on her key chain as the reason for the search. Roden was not charged in the incident. After Roden and her truck were released, she started her return trip to Waco. York, Pennsylvania Mayor to Turn Himself In on 1969 Murder Charges 5/16 York PA Mayor Charlie Robertson will surrender to police tomorrow after being charged with murder in the 1969 murder of a black woman, Lillie Belle Allen. "Murder is the charge," Robertson said as he fought off tears. Five white men have already been charged in Allen's murder. Allen, who is black, was shot to death when she left a car during the 1969 York race riots. Court papers refer to an ``unnamed police officer'' who screamed ``white power!'' at a racist rally. Robertson has admitted he attended the rally and shouted "white power." The papers also say the same officer provided ammunition to at least one of the men who fired on Allen's car and urged ``commando raids'' in black neighborhoods. Robertson has denied those allegations. The 10 day long riots started when a white gang member shot and injured a young black man in York. More than 60 people were injured, 100 were arrested and entire city blocks were burned. The five men arrested for the murder are Robert Messersmith, Arthur Messersmith, Rick Knouse, Gregory Neff, and William Ritter. Ritter was charged with criminal homicide shortly before the mayor's press conference. Robertson narrowly won the Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday. Robertson's attorney said the charges were politically motivated because the prosecutor is a Republican. Black Firefighters to Boycott Mississippi in the Wake of Flag Vote 5/16 The Black Chief Officers Committee of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters have notified Jackson, Mississippi Fire Chief Raymond McNulty that they have decided to cancel their conference, which would have been held in Jackson MS in 2002. Although new flag backers had predicted that they would lose business and tourism over the decision of Mississippi voters to keep the Confederate flag on their state flag, this is the first major group to cancel an activity in Mississippi. The state adopted the Confederate flag logo in 1894. "Chief McNulty had said it took about 18 months to get it confirmed, " said Jackson MS city spokeswoman Dorothy Triplett in the Jackson MS Clarion Ledger. "We are very disappointed. Supporters of the 1894 flag said that keeping the Confederate flag on the state flag was a way to preserve their heritage. FBI Director Louis Freeh Gets Praise, Criticism on Capitol Hill; McVeigh Weighs His Legal Options 5/16 As convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh huddled with his lawyers in his death row cell in Terre Haute, Indiana, FBI Director Louis Freeh was alternately praised and lambasted before the House Appropriations Subcommittee. Freeh told the committee that the FBI was guilty of a "serious error" with the belated discovery of 3,135 pages of new documents in the case, with seven more documents found by the Baltimore field office just yesterday, and possibly even more documents from unnamed field offices. Freeh said that he had sent out a priority teletype to all FBI field offices in November 1996 ordering them to turn over all documents. Before that, Freeh said the field offices were told 11 times to compile the documents to turn over to the defense teams of McVeigh and Terry Nichols. It was only after documents were being archived, starting in December, 2000 did the new documents turn up. Freeh said he did not know about the documents until May 10, shortly after he announced his resignation from the FBI on May 1. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) tore into Freeh. "I just think this is a pitiful performance, which is feeding the paranoia of large sections of the country, and that's the last thing we can afford these days," said Obey. Obey's district, which encompasses a large portion of northern Wisconsin, is or has been home to militias and a Ku Klux Klan chapter lead by Michael McQueeney, Mercer WI. McQueeney's group demonstrated in Skokie, Illinois last winter, and has demonstrated in Madison, Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois. Christian Identity Minister Pete Peters of La Porte, Colorado, has held campouts and baptisms at a Bible camp in Obey's district over the Labor Day weekend the past two years. Since the early 1970's, Tigerton, Wisconsin, in Obey's district, has been the home of the Christian Identity-based Posse Comitatus, which has gotten into armed standoffs and confrontations with law enforcement, filed false liens on local officials, passed fake money orders, and tried to form their own county, "Tigerton Dells." A number of members of this Posse group has been jailed and imprisoned for their actions, including James Wickstrom and Thomas Stockheimer, and Posse members have had their land seized and sold for failure to pay taxes. The FBI, Obey said, was "something close to a failed agency...the litany of troubles with the agency are truly astounding and regrettable." Other committee members were less harsh. Rep. David Rogers (R-Kentucky) said, "You had 28,000 interviews, and you had tons of materials that were turned over and what we're taking about here is really insignificant, irrelevant documents that have no bearing on the case. Is that a fair assessment?" Freeh replied, "that is my understanding." The FBI contends that the newly found materials are not relevant to the case and will not affect the outcome of the case. The discovery led the Attorney General to postpone the execution of McVeigh for a month and triggered an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by convicted co-conspirator Terry Nichols. Freeh told the committee that he will be adding "a world-class records expert" and will create a separate office of records management and policy before he leaves the FBI next month. Freeh also apologized to the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing for the postponement of McVeigh's execution. "I also regret the pain that this has caused the victims and family members who lost loved ones." At the same time Freeh was testifying, the man who was to be executed was meeting with his lawyers, Nathan Chambers and Rob Nigh at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. After they consulted with their client, Chambers and Nigh talked to the press. "Everything is available to us now in terms of potential legal options and we're going to pursue them all," said Nigh. "His spirits are good. He remains willing to consider all options that may be available to him," said Chambers. McVeigh's lawyers said he was talking an active role in his case and his decision to appeal his case. McVeigh had given up his appeals in December, 2000 and was scheduled to be executed at 8 a.m. EDT today. The lawyers said they had not received the new documents discovered in the FBI Baltimore field office. The lawyers expected the government to turn the documents over to them for their examination. Aryan Nations Property in Idaho May Be Burned and Sold 5/16 The Aryan Nations compound in northern Idaho will be burned and the property sold, according to a story by Bill Morlin in the Spokane Spokesman-Review. The new owner of the property, Greg Carr, has applied for a burning permit for the property. Carr is a multimillionaire and human rights activist who bought the property for $250,000 after the former leader of the Aryan Nations, Richard Butler, filed bankruptcy after he lost a lawsuit filed by Victoria and Jason Keenan. The Keenans were threatened and beaten by Aryan Nations guards and won a $6.3 million judgment against Butler. Butler was found to be responsible for the actions of his guards. Butler owned the property for 25 years, through last summer. The North Idaho landmark attracted a stream of white supremacists, many of whom left behind legacies of crime and violence, including Buford Furrow, a former Ayran Nations guard who is serving life in prison without parole for his murder of Joseph Ileto and wounding children and adults at a Jewish day care center in the Los Angeles area. A citizens ad hoc committed formed by Carr had planned on turning the compound into a human rights center, but there were concerns about security at the site and the insurance liability issues, Morlin reported. After the property is burned by firefighters in a training exercise, it may be sold for use as a cow pasture. A spokesman for Butler said, "I'd rather see it burned down and left in a pie of ashes than turned into a human rights museum. That would cause big problems for some of us if they turned it into a human rights museum," said Shaun Winkler. Plans now may include having a human rights center at another site, probably a public library in the Coeur d'Alene area or at the North Idaho College. More OKC Documents Discovered; McVeigh Says No John Doe II; Freeh Bashed on Capitol Hill 5/15 As the FBI combs its offices for more Oklahoma City documents, the Houston Chronicle received a letter from convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Seven more documents were found Monday in the Baltimore field office of the FBI. The field offices are conducting their sixth search of their files for Oklahoma City bombing files. Last week, the FBI turned over 3,135 pages of documents to McVeigh's defense team, and prompted Attorney General John Ashcroft to reschedule McVeigh's execution until June 11. Some of the information in the newly discovered documents relates to a man named "Robert Jacques," alternately spelled "Jacquez" and "Jacks." According to a southwest Missouri real estate broker, in November, 1994 McVeigh, along with Terry Nichols and Jacques came to his office to look at secluded acreage "in the middle of nowhere." The real estate broker said they wanted land with caves. The broker remembered that Jacques did most of the talking. Other information includes documents, FBI 302 forms, videotapes letters and other correspondence concerning John Doe II. In a letter to the Houston Chronicle received on Monday but dated May 2, before the documents were discovered, McVeigh said that John Doe II does not exist and attacked his former lawyer, Stephen Jones. "Jones has been thoroughly discredited, so I'm not going to break a sweat refuting his outlandish claims point-by-point....the truth is on my side," McVeigh wrote. "[D]oes anyone honestly believe that if there was a John Doe #2 (there is not), that Stephen Jones would be alive?....Think about it." According to one legal expert, McVeigh has ambushed his attorneys. Robert Pugsley of Southwest University School of Law in Los Angeles, said that if he were McVeigh's attorney, he's be upset by McVeigh's letter because it may undermine the appeal his attorneys may mount in McVeigh's behalf. McVeigh's attorneys have said that he is considering his options in light of the document discovery. A McVeigh timeline has been published by the PBS show, Frontline. On Capitol Hill, while retiring FBI Director Louis Freeh was supposed to testify in a closed door session of the Senate Intelligence Committee about the Robert Hanssen spy case and the FBI budget, Freeh was grilled by senators about the failure to turn over all documents to the defense in the McVeigh and Terry Nichols' cases. According to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), chairman of the committee, Freeh told the senators that the newly discovered documents will not have any bearing on the cayse, but Shelby said, "we'll have to wait and see." "It's something that should not have happened, and it shows, probably, a lack of diligence somewhere in the FBI," Shelby said. Shelby said that Freeh was the FBI's director and was responsible for the lapse, but said that others who failed to meet deadlines or follow orders "ought to be brought to task." Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), not a member of the committee and who did not attend the Intelligence Committee hearing, weighed in. "There's no question these mistakes should not have been made in a high-profile case or in any case." Hatch is chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee that has oversight over the FBI. "Every criminal defendant has the right to these types of materials and we've got to live up to our responsibilities. We must see that those rights are protected." Shelby is calling for a "broad review of the FBI, its mission, its problems and some solutions." Hatch plans on calling hearings on the McVeigh matter and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) will propose a separate inspector general for the FBI, which would supplant the Inspector General of the Justice Department. Shelby was also concerned about the failure of the FBI to turn over files and tapes of the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four young girls. "From what I've learned recently, the FBI had the information which they never furnished to our former (state) attorney general, Bill Baxley, when he reopened the bombing case" in the 1970's "and only recently furnished it to the U.S. Attorney's office in Birmingham." Baxley wrote a scathing editorial in the New York Times criticizing the failure of the FBI to turn the tapes over to the prosecution for almost 35 years. The document discovery is causing more problems for prosecutors in other cases. Because of the release of the documents, a state court has postponed a preliminary hearing for Terry Nichols, McVeigh's convicted co-conspirator. Testimony was to start on Monday. No new date has been set for Nichols. On Wednesday, FBI Director Louis Freeh will testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, which may be broadcast on C-span. One of McVeigh's attorneys will travel to Terre Haute IN for a consultation with McVeigh. Freedom Riders Make Emotional Return to Birmingham 5/15 Forty years after the Freedom Riders started their dangerous journey, eight of the Freedom Riders rode back to Birmingham, Alabama. Ed Blankenheim, now 67, broke down into tears at a Birmingham museum where a replica of the bus he was riding on four decades ago was firebombed. "I just broke down. Everything came back to me--the ugliness, the hate," Blankenheim told the Associated Press. "There were women there with babies in their arms screaming 'roast those niggers.' People were coming from church on Mother's Day to participate in an honest to God lynching." This time, Blankenheim's return to the Freedom Riders' bus was noticeably different. Along with Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), Hank Thomas, Charles Person, James Zwerg, John Moody, Charles Perkins, and two others were greeted by Anniston, Alabama Mayor Chip Howell presented the Riders with a key to the city. In Montgomery, Alabama Mayor Bobby Bright greeted the Riders at David Abernathy's First Baptist Church and said, "I'm here in this church to welcome you and not out at the city limits with an angry mob. " In Birmingham, the buses, which carried the Freedom Riders and about 150 others, Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid greeted the Riders at the bus station and he owed his political career to the Freedom Riders. "We know the hate you faced years ago. I realize full well I stand squarely on your shoulders." "Forty years ago, we were not this relaxed after leaving Anniston. There was a terrible amount of fear in this region. It was like taking your life into your own hands, but we were willing to die for it," Rep. Lewis said. Zwerg, who watched a tape of himself in a hospital bed after being beaten at the bus station in Birmingham, heard himself say, "We'll take the hitting. We'll take the beatings. We'll accept death." Zwerg, like Blankenheim, broke down into tears and said, "This is a very moving thing for me to come through. I feel honored to be among you. I just happen to have white skin, but there is nothing special about me. I owe you so much." In Montgomery, at the church where the Riders were trapped for 15 hours by a rabid mob, Zwerg met someone whom he had never met: the man who had taken him, unconscious, to the hospital 40 years ago. Cops and Protestors Outnumber WCOTC Matt Hale at Speech 5/14 A speech by World Church of the Creator Pontifex Maximus Matthew Hale drew more police and protestors than supporters. The speech, held at the Clinton, Illinois library on Saturday, saw 52 state, county and local police officers setting up barricades around the library hours prior to Hale's appearance, and people attending the speech were required to go through a metal detector. Six protestors outside yelled at the few Hale supporters who showed up for the speech, and inside, protestors outnumbered Hale and his allies. Twelve officers lined the walls of the room while Hale spoke and yellow police tape was tied on tables separating Hale from the audience. During the speech, hecklers annoyed Hale, prompting Hale to ask police to remove the protestors. "I want him shut up to be moved out of here," Hale told the police, according to the Bloomington IL Pantagraph. Police did not remove anyone, but frequently told the audience to keep quiet. Most of the audience were Hale protestors. A few Hale supporters clapped during Hale's hour-long speech. When Hale finally finished his white supremacy speech, he took questions from the audience. A black high school senior, Tyrone Byrd, told Hale he felt sorry for him. This drew loud applause. By the end of Hale's speech, only six people were still in the audience. Hale is barred from using the library in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, after his last speech caused over $4000 in damage. The library has required Hale to pay for the damages before he can use the Peoria library again. In a related matter, a gun dealer who made unlicensed sales to another gun dealer, who then sold guns to a WCOTC member who went on a shooting spree was sentenced to two years probation. Robert Hayes, Peoria, sold guns to Donald Feissinger, Pekin IL, without notifying the state police, a violation of Illinois state law. Feissinger sold two guns to Benjamin Smith, a member of the WCOTC, and one of Hale's top assistants. Smith went on a three day shooting rampage in July, 1999, killing two people and wounding nine before killing himself. Because Hayes cooperated with authorities, he was given probation. Feissinger was sentenced to 10 months in prison for selling firearms without a license. Embassy Bombing Jury Deliberates Amidst High Security, Controversy 5/14 The jury in the embassy bombing cases are in their second day of deliberation, with concern among the defense, prosecution and judge that the Timothy McVeigh case may taint their decision. The case is being tried in the Southern District of New York. Four men are on trial for the 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, Khallfan Khamis Mohamed, Wadih El-Hage and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh. al-'Owadi and Khamis Mohamed face the death penalty for their roles in the bombing of the embassies. El-Hage and Odeh face life in prison for their roles in the overall plot in the bombings. The bombings killed 224 people and injured hundreds more. The jury is not sequestered. They deliberated on Friday, but did not deliberate over the weekend. Jurors have been ordered to avoid any stories about Timothy McVeigh. TV news coverage over the weekend brought numerous stories about McVeigh and heavy criticism of the FBI. The testimony of FBI agents was central to the prosecution's case, describing confessions made by Khamis Mohamed and al-'Owhali about their roles in the attack. Osama bin Laden has been charged as a co-conspirator in the bombings and is on the FBI's Most Wanted. Bin Laden is presumed to be living in Afghanistan and there is a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The government has portrayed the defendants as willing followers of bin Laden. Security in and around the courtroom and courthouse is tight. A 100 page plan outlines the security for the building and its surroundings. Concrete barriers surround the courthouse and trial spectators must go through two metal detectors. Security dogs inspect packages and purses and the building's wiring is inspected for sabotage. Prior to trial, one of the defendants charged Judge Leonard B. Sand and another defendant stabbed a jail guard in the eye. Ashcroft Says No to More McVeigh Extensions; Brady Law Key to Appeal 5/14 Attorney General John Ashcroft has said that he will not extend the time past June 11 for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's execution. McVeigh and his lawyers are analyzing newly discovered materials in his case, materials that came to light last Thursday. McVeigh was due to be executed on May 16. Legal analysts say that if McVeigh wants to restart his appeals, Brady v. Maryland (see Brady v. Maryland) is key to his appeal. The newly discovered evidence will also have an impact on Terry Nichols' appeals. In a decision written by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Brady says: "We now hold that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution." The FBI is now conducting a sixth search of their files to ascertain whether all Oklahoma City bombing materials have been, in fact, turned over to the defense. McVeigh Still Considering Appeals; Congress Calls for Investigation 5/13 As convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh ponders resuming his appeals in the wake of revelations that the FBI discovered over 3000 pages of documents in his case, members of Congress said they wanted hearings on the case, and Sen. Charles Schumer has called on President George W. Bush for a special commission for a thorough examination of the FBI. Sen. Charles Grassley criticized retiring FBI Director Louis Freeh, saying, "It think there is a management culture here that is at fault. I call it a 'cowboy culture,'" Grassley said on "This Week" on ABC. "It is a culture that puts image--public relations and headlines--ahead of the fundamentals. I don't think he [Freeh] has been willing to challenge the management culture." Sen. Arlen Specter wants more oversight of the FBI in general. McVeigh's legal team first found out that the FBI had discovered that 3,135 pages of documents, plus videotapes and pictures, starting in January. McVeigh gave up his appeals and would have been executed on May 16. Because of the discovery, Attorney General John Ashcroft postponed McVeigh's execution date until June 11. Robert Nigh, attorney for McVeigh, said, "In the light [of the discovery], it's completely reasonable for him to evaluate his position. The facts of the case are now certainly at issue." Another McVeigh attorney, Nathan Chambers, said, "Are we going to learn next week that there are yet more documents?" "The fact of the production itself could possibly change the legal outcome of the case," said Nigh. One of McVeigh's prosecutors, Beth Wilkinson, said, "He has confessed to the crime. The evidence during the trial was overwhelming." Wilkinson said that the belated production of the materials was an accident. An antiquated computer system has been blamed for the failure of the FBI to comply with a court order from U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch to turn over the documents to the defense. The prosecution team and the Justice Department have said they did not receive the materials until late last week. The FBI made five searches for the information at all of its field offices. On the fifth search, starting in December, 2000, new material started turning up. It was collected and reviewed by Special Agent Danny Defenbaugh, and later, Special Agent Mark White. This discovery may well have benefited Terry Nichols, McVeigh's convicted co-conspirator. Although Nichols' appeal based on missing documents was rejected by the appellate court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Midnight on Friday, May 11 was the deadline for Nichols to file a motion for reconsideration with the U.S. Supreme Court. Shortly before midnight Friday, Michael Tigar, Nichols' trial and appellate attorney, filed for reconsideration of the Supreme Courts' rejection of the Nichols appeal. Nichols is serving life without parole for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. Nichols is also facing capital murder charges in Oklahoma state court in the deaths of the victims of the bombing. York PA 1969 Race Riot Murder Suspect Denied Bail 5/13 Arthur Messersmith was denied bail in the murder of a black women during the York PA race riots in 1969. Messersmith's bail was first set at $100,000 until a jail inmate who had known Messersmith years ago told the court that Messersmith told him, "I've got to make bail and then get my brother Bo out. I'm thinking of going deep into Mexico." Robert Messersmith is also charged in the murder of Lillie Beth Allen. Messersmith said that it was the jail inmate, Charles Smith, who wanted him to flee and that Smith has a history of mental illness. The judge said he wants to review Smith's background and reports on Smith's mental status before holding another bail hearing. Birmingham Bomber Tommy Blanton Appeals Murder Conviction 5/13 Former KKK member Thomas Blanton, convicted on May 1 in the 1963 murders of four girls in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, has asked the judge for a new trial. Blanton is challenging his conviction on a dozen issues, including the judge's decision to allow in secret tapes of Blanton about the bombing, that the trial should have been moved from Birmingham and that no white men were on the jury that convicted him. The jury consisted of eight white women, three black women and one black man. Defense attorney John Robbins said that the trial should have been moved from Birmingham because of four decades of publicity about the murders, but he thought "the thrust of the appeals is really the tapes. It think that is what will get it overturned." The tapes were secretly recorded in the mid 1960's. One tap was in the kitchen of Blanton's kitchen, were he told his wife he was going to meet under the a river bridge were "we planned the bomb." Tapes made by an FBI informant heard Blanton say he would not get caught "when I bomb my next church." Prior to trial, Blanton appealed to the Alabama courts and to the U.S. Supreme Court about the use of the tapes in the trial. The courts refused to consider the issue prior to Blanton's conviction. Aryan Nations Member, Accused Killer, Wants "Celtic" Lawyer in Queens NY Case 5/13 In a Queens, NY Courtroom, a self-proclaimed member of the Ayran Nations tried to fire his lawyer in a murder case, then threatened to kill the lawyer. Peter Chaliff, who claims to be a member of the defunct Sandpoint, Idaho Aryan Nations, is charged with murdering Joseph Bascardi inside a deli in 1993. Chaliff claims to be "commander of its organized military special forces," according to the New York Daily News. Since Chaliff's 1998 arrest, he has been declared fit for trial, then unfit, then decllared cured after time in a psychiatric facility. During a pre-trial hearing in Queens Supreme Court, Chaliff accused his attorney of being an FBI informant, then abused his lawyer, Antony Rattoballi with a series of racial epithets, then threatened to kill him, then fired him, demanding a Celtic attorney. While court personnel looked for a non-Jewish attorney to represent Chaliff, the judge, Robert Hanophy, stated if Chaliff is declared unfit for trial again, he cannot represent himself, Chaliff's desire. During a previous hearing, Chaliff flipped over the defense table and tried to attack Supreme Court Justice William Erlbaum. Chaliff's trial starts next week. No More Animal House: Dartmouth Shuts Down Zeta Psi 5/12 Zeta Psi fraternity, who printed up newsletters which detailed members' sexual escapades with women they named and had threatened to publish a date rape manual during Sexual Awareness Week, was shut down by Darthmouth College on Friday The frat, which was chartered on the campus in 1853, was banned for life from the campus. Frat members cannot hold meetings or have other activities on campus and members much move out when spring semester ends. The Ivy League school was the inspiration for the John Belushi film, "Animal House." New ACLU Leader is Group's First Hispanic 5/12 Anthony D. Romero was named the American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director. Romero, the ACLU's first Hispanic director, is a New York public interest attorney and director of the Ford Foundation's program for human rights and international cooperation, overseeing $90 million in grants. Romero, said he will work to make the ACLU more prominent in local communities and continue to focus on defending religious liberty, reproductive freedom and the rights of women, minorities and gays. Romero is homosexual. Romero will take over from the ACLU's current executive director Ira Glasser, who is retiring after serving as the ACLU's Executive Director for 23 years. "Mississippi Burning" Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price Dies 5/12 A former Neshoba County, Mississippi deputy sheriff, who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1964 murders of three civil rights murders died as the result of injuries he received in an accident. Cecil Price, 63, died after he fell from a lift at an equipment rental store and struck his head. He died in early May. Price was convicted on federal conspiracy charges in 1967 in the murders of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney. The three were murdered after they were jailed, then released and kidnapped by the Ku Klux Klan. They were shot to death and buried in an earthen dam. Their murders were the inspiration for the1988 movie, "Mississippi Burning." Price is one of several persons in the case to die in recent months. Price served four years in federal prison on the charges. Recently, Mississippi Attorney General and Neshoba County investigators have reopened the case. Moore said, "That is very, unfortunate for our case. Unbelievable." Moore said the investigation would proceed, but the length of time since the killings, just a few months after the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, meant that "it's very tough. You've got to have live witnesses to testify in a case like this. We may get there, though. After meeting with my folks this morning, they say we still have a chance. We're going to keep fighting," Moore told the Associated Press. The case has been dormant for years, but Moore has set up a "war room" on the case and their prime suspect in the murders was Price. Chaney's brother, Ben Chaney, said, "I think Mike Moore is waiting for all these perpetrators to die off so he doesn't have to prosecute them." Baumhammers Gets Death Penalty; Will Appeal 5/12 Richard Baumhammers, who was convicted last Wednesday of killing five people and seriously injuring another in a racist and anti-Semitic shooting rampage, was sentenced to death on Friday. Baumhammers, 35, was an unemployed immigration lawyer who tried to found an anti-immigration party, shot and killed a Jewish neighbor, two Asian men, an Indian man and an African-American man. He also shot an Indian man and left him a quadriplegic. Prosecutors said Baumhammers read racist and anti-immigration material and viewed Timothy McVeigh and Adolph Hitler as heroes. Baumhammers' attormey said he would appeal because the judge allowed a jailhouse tape of Baumhammers and his parents into evidence. On the tape, Baumhammers' mother called him a racist. Onc In an article
which is published in the Summer 2001 Intelligence Report from
the Southern Poverty Law Center, the militia movement, once at 858
groups in 1996, has faded to 194 groups in 2000, said experts on the
militia movement. “As Timothy
McVeigh goes to his death, the movement he sprang from is a shadow of
its former self,” said Mark Potok, editor of the SPLC’s
Intelligence Report and a respected expert on far right extremism.
McVeigh will be executed on May 16. Militias have
shrunk to one-fifth of their former strength.
“There is an elastic pool of self-perceived politically
disenfranchised conservative white males,” said Prof. Brian Levin,
Professor of Criminal Justice & Director, Center for the Study of
Hate and Extremism, California State University, San Bernardino.
“That pool has shrunk after the Oklahoma City bombing as the
more moderate adherents to the movement were drawn back into
mainstream conservatism, in part due to the revulsion from the
bombing, and some notable conservative political victories,” Levin
said. There has been no
notable trigger event of government force like Ruby Ridge or Waco
to galvanize the far right; Ruby Ridge occurred in 1992. Waco occurred in 1993. “Furor
over gun control, Waco and the Brady Bill has faded,” said Potok.
Levin said, “What is left is a much smaller number of
hard-core idealogues who face increasing competition in the extremist
world from other expanding movements like neo-Nazism.” “Hot social movements don’t have a very long shelf life,” said Potok. Militia group membership by year: 1995: 224 groups 1996:
858 1997:
523 1998:
435 1999:
217 2000:
194 McVeigh Gets 30-Day Stay of Execution from AG Aschcroft 5/11 In the wake of the Justice Department discovery Wednesday of over 3,135 pages of documents, Attorney General John Ashcroft stayed the execution of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh until June 11. The documents in question are from 46 FBI field offices, discovered while case files on McVeigh were being archived. The Justice Department and the FBI were under a court order from U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch to turn the documents over to the trial attorneys for McVeigh prior to trial. The documents, as well as pictures, correspondence and videotapes, were under that court order. "It is now clear that the F.B.I. failed to comply fully" with an agreement to hand over all documents in the case, said Ashcroft. ".It is my responsibility to promote the sanctity of the rule of law and justice. It is my duty to protect the integrity of our system of justice, " said Ashcroft. "I have made a decision to postpone the execution of Timothy McVeigh for one month from this day, so that the execution would occur on June the 11, 2001, in an effort to allow his attorneys ample and adequate time to review these documents and to take any action they might deem appropriate in that interval." A number of legal experts have said that if McVeigh chooses to pursue court action, an execution date may not be set for at least a year. McVeigh's attorneys have now said that 30 days is not enough for a thorough review of the documents. Stephen Jones, the lead trial lawyer for McVeigh, said that he "felt a certain degree of vindication since I have maintained from the very beginning that the government has not given us everything that they said and told the court they had given us...I really wasn't surprised....but I'm not sure it makes any difference" because McVeigh has admitted his guilt. McVeigh is now considering his legal options. After a visit with McVeigh in death row at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, to discuss the newest revelations from the Justice Department, Mc Veigh attorney Rob Nigh, said, "he is willing to take a fresh look and evaluate the information," said Nigh. "He is distressed about this," said Nigh. "Mr. McVeigh is very resilient. He is capable to evaluating new information and making a decision based on that information." Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Danny Defenbaugh started to archive McVeigh materials from FBI field offices starting in December, 2000, after McVeigh said he would not pursue any further appeals. In February, Defenbaugh noticed that some of the materials were not in the official list of discovery materials turned over to defense attorneys before the trial. According to the Dallas Morning News, Defenbaugh said that he and a small number of bureau insiders started to review all the newly discovered documents a couple weeks ago. Defenbaugh said he is convinced that none of the documents were relevant to the outcome of the trial. Defenbaugh said he reviewed hundreds of documents with Supervisory Special Agent Mark White for about a week before notifying senior Justice Department officials approximately three days prior to notifying the judge and the defense attorneys. Defenbaugh was the lead investigator in the Oklahoma bombing investigation and White was his chief lieutenant. Defenbaugh said he does not know how the materials were overlooked. President George W. Bush said he only learned of the FBI foul-up on Thursday night, about the same time the general public found out about the FBI bungle. Bush said he considered McVeigh "lucky" to live in a country where the fairness of the legal system halted the execution of McVeigh. Bush said he had no second thoughts about capital punishment. Bush said "as long as the system provides fairness....Mr. McVeigh is luck to be an a country like this...This is a country who will bend over backwards to make sure that his constitutional rights are guaranteed." Bush said he had no doubts about McVeigh's guilt. "Mr. McVeigh, as I recall, said he did it, and I take him for his word." FBI Director Louis Freeh could not be contacted by the press. When Bush was asked if Freeh had informed him of the discovery of the documents, Bush said "Director Freeh never brought this up to me. I found about this last evening. In my conversation with Mr. Freeh when he came in and said he was leaving, the subject never came up." The families of victims and survivors of the bombing are on an emotional roller coaster. "I have suffered enough, my family has suffered enough. Here we go again. Now we're facing the possibility of another trial, the fact that his man could be set free on this technicality and I don't like it," said Kathleen Treanor, whose four-year-old daughter and in-laws died in the bombing. Paul Heath, who was injured in the blast said, "I'm convinced it wouldn't make any difference to Mr. McVeigh. It would be a bigger problem for me if he wasn't given a fair trial....I'll wait and let the judge review and let him tell us what he means." Other victim reaction ranged from stunned shock to anger to resignation. "It's going to be very heart-wrenching. We have tried to put ourselves in a frame of mind for what we are going to see, what he's going to say. We have suffered for six years for this and I don't think we need to suffer anymore," said Dan McKinney, whose wife died in the explosion. Richard Williams, who survived the bomb blast, said, "It's been an emotional roller coaster for us for the last six years. I think it always will be." Kathy Wilburn, who lost two grandchildren when the day care center was destroyed by the bomb, said she was excited to find out what is in the new documents. "I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning," she said. Wilburn believes in a number of the Oklahoma bombing conspiracy theories and believes McVeigh had more help with the bombing than the prosecutors acknowledged. The failure to turn over the documents to McVeigh has already had some unintended consequences. Michael Tigar, attorney for McVeigh's co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, said he would be filing a motion for a reconsideration of his Supreme Court appeal, an appeal that was denied last month. Tigar will file these documents by midnight tonight. Tigar, clearly infuriated, said he believed the FBI had deliberately withheld the documents. Tigar said he would ask the Court to order the solicitor general to look into the impact of the newly discovered files. "This is what the FBI does – they lie to the prosecutors," said Tigar. "We've caught them doing it again and again and again." Although it is unlikely that McVeigh's conviction would be overturned, McVeigh has a better chance of having his sentence modified, said legal pundits. Texas Gov. Perry Signs Hate Crimes Bill 5/11 In the presence of the family of James E. Byrd Jr., Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a revised hate crimes bill this afternoon. The bill specifically designates protected groups and stiffens the penalties for hate crimes in Texas. Although Perry had attempted to kill the bill with legislative maneuvers, and the refusal of the former Governor, now President George W. Bush, Perry signed the bill in the wake of a Dallas area church being defaced with racist graffiti last week. The mother of James Byrd, Stella Byrd, said she was "very pleased that he [Perry] had changed his mind and thank God for that, too. I think he finally realized it was a good bill. The bill strengthens penalties for crimes motivated by a victim's race, religion, sex, disability, sexual preference, age or national origin. As late as yesterday, Perry said he had not decided to sign the bill because he was concerned the bill would "create a new class of citizens." Bush did not sign the bill because he said every crime was a hate crime. James Byrd died after being dragged behind a pickup truck with a chain in Jasper, Texas in 1998. He was killed by Lawrence Russell Brewer, John William King and Shawn Allen Berry. All three were convicted of murder. Brewer and King are on death row. Berry is serving a life sentence. Brewer and King belonged to a white supremacist gang and were trying to expand the gang by killing Byrd. Thirty Day Stay Virtually Assured for McVeigh 5/11 A 30 day stay of execution is virtually assured for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh after news that the Justice Department has discovered 3,135 pages of documents in his case. McVeigh is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 8 a.m. Eastern on May 16th. Attorney General John Ashcroft has scheduled a press conference for 1 p.m. today, and news reports confirm that Ashcroft will postpone McVeigh's execution for a period of time. Because the Bureau of Prisons within the authority of the Justice Department set the execution date, it can reset the execution date. The Justice Department mistakenly withheld the documents from defense lawyers prior to trial. These documents were discovered on Tuesday and turned over to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch, the trial judge in the case, and to McVeigh's lawyers on Wednesday. The documents were discovered in an archivist's search of all FBI field offices as the McVeigh case drew to a close. "Because executions are irreversible, it is legally appropriate to delay the execution until all these documents can be properly reviewed by the defense," said Brian Levin, an attorney and director of The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Levin attended the McVeigh trial in Denver, Colorado for approximately three weeks in spring, 1997. Levin was a legal commentator on the trial for various news outlets. Another legal expert agrees with Levin. Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the College of William and Mary, said, "Any responsible judge in a case like this, the first instinct is really to put a stay on the execution." President George W. Bush expressed his concern over the news of the belated disclosure of the documents. Ari Fleischer, the president's press secretary, said the president expressed "Concern. Concern about the process" after the discovery of the documents. The White House said the delay in McVeigh's execution is a "basic sense of fairness." One of McVeigh's attorneys, Rob Nigh, arrived at the federal prison Terre Haute, Indiana today to consult with McVeigh about his options. McVeigh can request a stay of sentence, and he has a number of other legal options (see story below) which he could exercise. "Based on what they have said, I would be amazed if [Justice] is not seriously considering [a postponement], said Nigh in an interview. "It will take an extensive amount of time to go over all these documents. Nathan Chambers, another of McVeigh's lawyers, told the Today show, "We don't know at this point what we're going to do," but McVeigh "is aware of the situation and is weighing all of his options." McVeigh was notified by his attorneys of the newly discovered evidence on Wednesday. If McVeigh were to file a motion for a new trial, he would have to be able to prove that the newly discovered evidence would lead to a reversal of his guilty verdict. ""While there were no eyewitness evidence linking McVeigh to the scene, the other available evidence was really quite damning, "said Levin. "The hard fact is that even though the probability for a retrial is miniscule, a stay of execution is likely if the judge or any of the parties request it." Levin said that the Justice Department's request for a delay in McVeigh's execution "is thoroughly appropriate in light of these developments." McVeigh has said that his execution is "a deluxe suicide by cop." Stephen Jones, trial lawyer for McVeigh, said, "There could be a benign interpretation and it could all be irrelevant. On the other hand, it could be a malignant failure to turn over." The Justice Department said in a statement, "while the department is confident the documents do not in any way create any reasonable doubt about McVeigh's guilt and do not contradict his repeated confessions of guilt, the department is concerned that McVeigh's attorneys were not able to review them at the appropriate time." The FBI failed to turn over documents,
videotapes, correspondence, and pictures. The documents include
FBI 302 forms. According to a person knowledgeable about FBI
302's: "The FD-302 is a form that is supposed to consist of the results of interviews of witnesses or subjects in an investigation and can include the results of such investigative procedures as an autopsy. FD-302s, Investigative Inserts, Memoranda, Letters, Airtels, and other FBI forms, reports, and even newspaper and magazine clippings are referred to as "serials" to a file. Each serial is numbered, with the first serial at the bottom of the file, and the most recent one on top.
The notes should always be available to the defense. They are kept in an envelope-type pocket in the back of the file back and cover (Acco-binder type legal size file back and covers are used) so this can be easily done. Serial numbering is used so that the defense can readily tell if all the serials in the file have been made available as part of discovery. The newly discovered evidence was also turned
over to McVeigh's co-defendant in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Nichols has an appeal pending and this could impact on his
appeal. Nichols lost an appeal when the Justice Department
failed to turn over 35,000 "lead sheets" in his case.
Nichols is also facing murder charges in the state of Oklahoma. FBI Withheld Evidence From McVeigh 5/10 Just six days before his execution date, the FBI said today that it withheld almost 200 pieces of evidence amounting to about 3,000 pages from Timothy McVeigh and his lawyers. The evidence was found when a recent search of the FBI archives turned up FBI 302 forms. FBI 302 forms are sworn statements of summaries written by FBI agents of interviews and review of evidence in cases. The FBI said it did not know why the documents weren't turned over to the defense before trial and is conducting an internal investigation. The FBI first notified U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch, and then turned the documents over to the defense. The defense lawyers said they received the documents today. McVeigh attorney Nathan Chambers told CBS News that "we have under consideration the options we could pursue. Mr. McVeigh is going to think about it and decide how he wants to proceed." Although some of the information in the documents may be duplicates, some of the interviews in the FBI reports are original. The interviews were conducted shortly after the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. The Justice Department said none of the information is exculpatory to McVeigh, but it is up to a judge to decide whether the information is helpful to McVeigh's case. "Once the government was made aware of the documents, they were turned over to the defense. They are immaterial to the case and have no bearing on the outcome of the conviction. If the defense disagrees, they will contact us," an unnamed Justice department official told CNN. It is a very serious matter to withhold evidence and could lead to a hearing that would delay McVeigh's execution McVeigh has a number of options: he could file a motion for a stay of execution so his lawyers can review the newly discovered evidence; he could file a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence; he could file a writ of habeas corpus; he could file a motion asking the court to sanction the prosecutors and the FBI; he could ask that the prosecution and the FBI be held in contempt for withholding evidence; or he could do nothing at all. One of McVeigh's lawyers is traveling to Terre Haute, Indiana to visit McVeigh on death row tomorrow to discuss the revelations in McVeigh's case with him. "I'm disturbed that these reports were produced at this late date," said Chambers. "Here we are a full six years after the bombing and less than a week before McVeigh's scheduled execution, when these reports mysteriously appear, so it's a cause for concern," Chambers told CBS. "We're considering all the options." Victims of the bombing were shocked and stunned by the latest turn in the McVeigh case. "It'll set everyone back several steps," said bombing survirvor Glenda Riley. "I really think it will set everybody back." McVeigh has admitted he bombed the Murrah Building in "American Terrorist," a book printed about McVeigh printed last month, McVeigh said, "the truth is, I blew up the Murrah Building." Virginia Governor Gilmore Rescinds "European American Heritage and History Month" Proclamation Requested by Former Klan Leader David Duke and Ron Doggett 5/10 Gov. James Gilmore declared May "European American Heritage and History Month," then rescinded the proclamation after learning it was requested by NOFEAR, the National Organization for European American Rights, David Duke's latest white supremacist group and its Virginia president, Ron Doggett, who has said that whites and blacks should live separately. Duke is the chairman of the St. Tammany Parish (Louisiana) Republican Party's executive committee and former Klan leader. Gilmore hastily issued a statement that said, "David Duke's group masquerades as an advocacy group for diversity but preaches white supremacy and a dogma of exclusion and hatred....my aims and goals as governor of Virginia are 180 degrees from theirs. A simple mistake was made." Aides in Gilmore's administration blamed staffers who didn't recognize the name of the group or Doggett. Aides also said that the signature on the proclamation was made by autopen, not Gilmore's actual signature. Administration officials said they were deeply embarrassed by the proclamation. Gilmore, who is both governor of Virginia and chairman of the Republican National Committee, has called on the GOP to reach out to African Americans and other minorities, although Gilmore struggled for a year over another proclamation that declared April "Confederate History Month." Under pressure from the NAACP and other groups, Gilmore issued another proclamation that denounces slavery as the cause of the Civil War and recognizes its black and white combatants, the Washington Post reported. Doggett has organized Virginia visits by David Duke, publicly opposed a state apology to victims of selective breeding and waved signs of support for baseball pitcher John Rocker when Rocker appeared in a Richmond Braves game after making racially-charged remarks to Sports Illustrated. Gilmore barely avoided a confrontation with Doggett at a quickly arranged press conference this morning outside Gilmore's office. Once Gilmore's remarks were completed, Gilmore left through another door before Doggett could arrive. "I feel betrayed," said Doggett outside the governor's office. Doggett called the governer's action "reverse racism" and said, "The European Americans are the racial only group that votes Republican." The proclamation borrowed heavily from Doggett's letter to Gilmore in April. After acknowledging that Jamestown was founded by European colonists on May 13, 1607, it applauded the accomplishments of more than 5 million Virginians "of European ancestory." "It is fitting to recognize Americans and Virginians of European descent for the significant contributions they have made to our nation and to the world in the fields of medicine, science, engineering, technology, business, law and government," the proclamation said. Gilmore defended the wording of the proclamation in his press conference. He said, "There is certainly nothing wrong with celebrating the accomplishments of the thousands of European Americans who contributed to Virginia's long and distinguished history." NCAAP executive director King Salim Khalfani said that Gilmore "doesn't want to link arms with David Duke and Ron Doggett. "I think it was probably an honest mistake." Katy, Texas Family Sues for $15 Million Over Cross Burning 5/10 A black family from Katy, Texas sued five white men who wore white sheets or hoods and planted a six-foot cross in their front yard and set it ablaze. Dwayne and Maria Ross are also suing the parents of two of the men for the June 19, 2000 cross burning. The five men, all serving prison sentences, are accused of violating the civil rights of the Ross family, inflicted emotional distress and subjected them to defamation and unconsciousable conduct, according to the Houston Chronicle. The attorney for the family said that the Ross family deserve to be compensated for their mental anguish, but costs of counseling and protection of the Ross children, Sydney, 8, and Johnathon, 3. The attorney said that when the cross was burned outside the Ross home, it was inches from Johnathon's crib. Since the cross burning, the family has been further victimized by vandalism and racial slurs. Someone tore down their Christmas lights, they've been egged and someone shouted racial slurs at the children. Four weeks ago, the family put their house up for sale. The defendants in the lawsuit are Matthew Curtis Marshall, Wayne Mathews, Robert Bergeron, Darin White and Corydon William Parsons. All of the men plead guilty to various charges and are serving sentences that range from 13 months to 10 years. Also named in the suit are Jack and Sheryl Marshall, parents of Matthew Marshall, and Marjorie and Douglas White, parents of Darin White. The Ross family is asking for $15 million in actual damages and millions in punitive damages. Change of Venue to be Argued in Williams Brothers in Sacramento Synagogue Arson Case 5/10 Prosecutors in the Matthew and Tyler Williams synagogue arson case argued that the mere volume of publicity is not enough of a reason to move the trial of the brothers out of the region. The Constitution requires an impartial jury drawn from the judicial district where the crimes was committed, said U.S. Attorneys R. Steven Lapham and Benjamin Wagner, according to the Sacramento Bee. The prosecutors said that articles in the Sacramento Bee and the Redding Searchlight were not enough reason to move the trial, nor was a survey of 399 people in the district. U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. is scheduled to hear arguments on the venue motion on May 16th. The trial is set to start on July 17th. The Williams brothers are accused of committing three arson fires on June 18th, 1999 at B'nai Israel Synagogue, Beth Shalom Synagogue and Kenesset Israel Torah Center. Matthew Williams has genererated substantial publicity from jailhouse interviews. He is a proclaimed white supremacist and had said he wanted to wear a Hitler uniform to trial. The Williams brothers are are also accused of murdering two gay men, Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder, in their trailer. The brothers are also charged in state court with capital murder, a trial which will take place after the federal trial. Arson Attack on Hillel Center at UC Davis 5/10 Federal and state law enforcement are investigating an arson attack at the Hillel House on Wednesday night. Investigators determined that an Israeli flag was set on fire while hanging on the building, and that fire set the roof on fire. A plate glass window in the front of the house was also shattered. No injuries were reported. Local police are investigating the arson as a hate crime. The ATF and FBI are investigation it as a federal crime because the house is sometimes used as a house of worship. Officials had warned law enforcement that there might be trouble at the house after receiving a tip from Jewish students in another city overheard other students discussing plans to vandalize the Davis Hillel. They accused Palestinian students from UC Davis and elsewhere, in planning the attack. UC Davis has three recognized Palestinian groups: the Muslim Student Organization, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Arab Youth League. None of the leaders of the group would comment on the arson. The Hillel House is an off-campus meeting place for Jewish students for both UC Davis and Cal State University Sacramento. The house sponsors more than 500 events a year ranging from free Tuesday lunches to forums on Israeli politics. Both the University and Hillel House planned anti-violence unity events this month. After the police investigation at Hillel House was completed, the house was flying a new Israeli flag. Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Gay Bar Shooting 5/10 Ronald Edward Gay plead guilty to first degree murder and six other charges stemming from a shooting incident in a Roanoke, Virginia bar September 22, 2000. Gay, who told police he was upset that his last name made him a victim of jokes, who has condemned homosexuality, called himself a "Christian solider working for my Lord" in a letter to the Roanoke Times in March. Gay was embarrassed that three of his sons changed their last names. Gay plead guilty to murder and six counts of malicious wounding. Prosecutors agreed to drop seven firearms charges. Gay faces a maximum of four life sentences plus 60 years in prison. A day before the shooting, Gay checked into a local motel and began asking where the gay bar was and told people he wanted to shoot gay people. He received directions to the Backstreet Cafe, walked in and started firing. Danny Lee Overstreet died at the scene. Baumhammers Guilty of Five Murders 5/9 A jury in Pittsburgh found Richard Baumhammers guilty of killing five people in shooting rampage that was racially motivated. The jury, which deliberated three hours, also found Baumhammers guilty of eight countes of ethnic intimidation. In addition the five deaths, Baumhammers left another victim paralyzed. Baumhammers, who is white, shot his neighbor, who is Jewish; two men from India, two Asian men and one black man. Baumhammers, who is a non-practicing attorney, tried to found an anti-immigration political party. According to the prosecutors, Baumhammers, 35, started reading racist and anti-semitic materials and visitng racist and anti-semitic web sites in 1999. One of the web sites Baumhammers is alleged to have visited is Stormfront, the web site of Don Black, a white supremacist from West Palm Beach, Florida. According to testimony in the case, Baumhammers attacked a French woman because he thought she was Jewish, and made racist and anti-semitic slurs to jail inmates. Baumhammers wanted to become was well-known as Timothy McVeigh, Unabomber Ted Kaczynksi and Adolph Hitler, according to testimony at trial. Psychiatrists said that Baumhammers believed that the FBI and CIA were stalking him, the family maid was a spy and that his skin was peeling off. Prosecutors said that Baumhammers was mentally ill, but he was "controlled, deliberate, calculating and selective" in picking his victims, avoiding attention and evading police. Prior to the shootings, Baumhammers;' parents supported him with an allowance of $2000 to $4000 monthly, was able to travel internationally. The sentencing phase of the Baumhammers trial will begin on Thursday. Two More Men Arrested for 1969 Racial Murders in York PA 5/9 Gregory Harry Neff and Rick Lynn Knouse were arrested Wednesday in the 1969 murder of Lillie Belle Allen. Two weeks ago, brothers Robert Messersmith and Arthur Messersmith, were arrested for the same crime. According to affidavits in the case, Neff was armed with a 20-guage shotgun and Knouse was armed with a 30.06 rifle. A witness told the grand jury that when Lillie Belle Allen exited her car, someone yeled, "Get them, Neff." When Allen got out of the car, Neff fied at the car. Neff has testified he fired three shots at the car, and Knouse said he fired at the car as well. Neff and Knouse were members of a York gang named the Girarders, a white street gang who were in conflict with the Newberry Street Boys, the Messersmith's gang. The Girarders and the Newberry Street Boys, along with a third gang joined together during York's racial unrest in 1969. The gang's common enemy were blacks Michigan Appeals Court Reinstates Riot Charges in 1998 KKK Protest 5/9 The Michigan appeals court reinstated felony charges against six people who threw rocks at police while protesting a Klan rally in Ann Arbor. The appeals court ruled that Sung Wook Kim, Michael Fuqua, Adam Lerman, Philip Vandevoorde, Jonathan Hughes and Zachary Thomas risked "causing public alarm" during the May 9, 1998 rally. The six, along with two defendants who did not appeal, are accused of throwing rocks at police officers. The ruled reverses a Washtenow Circuit Court's ruling that said that the anti-Klan protestors did not fall under the provisions of Michigan's riot statute because the judge did not consider police to be members of the general public. Michigan's riot statute says that a protest can be considered a riot if five or more people work in concert to "intentionally or recklessly cause or create a serious risk of causing public terror or alarm." The riot charges are now reinstated and the case sent back to the Circuit Court for further action consistent with the appellate court's ruling. The maximum penalty for felony riot charges is a prison term up to 10 years. The case is People vs. Kim, case number 222523. VP Cheney to Lead Anti-Terrorism Task Force 5/9 Vice President Dick Cheney will lead an anti-terrorism task force while a new office in FEMA will coordinate terrorist response efforts. Testifying at three Senate committees, FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh will be establishing the Office of National Preparedness to coordinate federal programs and assist local governments in responding to terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruciton. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) said that the administration's plan highlights the need for better coordination between government agencies, but Gregg also hopes that Cheney's review will clearly define the roles of FEMA and the FBI. Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SC) said that FEMA's budget was recently cut by $200 million and said "rather than coordinating, we're dis-coordinating the effort being made in prevention of terrorism." Woman Can Sue Austria in Nazi Art Case 5/9 A California federal judge ruled a woman can sue the Austrian government to recover six paintings allegedly taken from her uncle by the Nazis and kept in Austria after World War II. The judge ruled that the paintings by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt were taken in violation of international law, Austria had no sovereign right to try the case. Maria Altman, the plaintiff, would have had to pay up to $2 million in legal deposits to try the case in Austria. The lawsuit estimates the paintings are worth at least $150 million. Freedom Riders to Recreate 1961 Ride on Saturday 5/9 Rep. John Lewis and several of the original 13 Freedom Riders will retrace the most violent parts of their 1961 route this Saturday. The riders will board a Greyhound bus in Atlanta and make stops in Anniston, GA, Birmingham AL and Montgomery AL, and will speak to young people as they did 40 years ago. When on the original ride beginning on May 4, 1961, Lewis and a white man, Al Bigelow, tried to use the bathroom in the Rock Hill bus station, but were turned away by a gang of thugs. As Lewis quoted a Supreme Court decision that barred desegregation on public transportation, Lewis was punched in the mouth, was hit square in the face, and as he fell to the floor of the bus station, he was stomped and kicked. When part of the group, thinned by arrests, arrived in Anniston, a mob savagely beat the riders; a mob attacked the bus, slashed its tires and the bus was burned with a firebomb. As the riders tried to escape the fire, the mob held the bus doors shut. When the bus' fuel tank exploded, the gang ran away and the riders escaped. Another bus made it to Birmingham safely. When the sponsor of the rides, the Congress for Racial Equality abandoned the rides, a student group from Nashville took over and resumed the rides. A few days later in Montgomery, Alabama, a student from Wisconsin, James Zwerg, was beaten so badly he suffered three fractured vertebrae. The federal authorities, prodded by Dr. Martin Luther King, guaranteed the safety of the Freedom Riders, and over the next few months, there would be dozens of Freedom Rides, with more than 300 Riders ending up in prison. On Sept, 22, 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission moved to end all segregation in interstate travel, including signs, restrooms and seatings, and on November 1, 1961, the Freedom Rides ended. On the web: The Freedom Riders from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: www.ibiblio.org/sncc/index.html White Supremacist Pleads Guilty to Defacing Synagogue in San Diego 5/8 Michael Brian DaSilva, 21, a follower of Alex Curtis and his Nationalist Observer, pleads guilty to federal civil rights conspiracy charges in a federal court in San Diego on Monday. DaSilva plead guilty to the three counts in exchange for a recommendation he serve three years in federal prison. He could face up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in August. DaSilva said he spray-painted racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on the Tifereth Israel synagogue in 1997 with another defendant in the case, Kevin Holland, while Curtis watched. Holland has already plead guilty and was sentenced to one year in federal prison. Another defendant in the case, Richard Nichol Morehouse, has withdrawn his guilty plea and is now awaiting trial. "Straight Pride" Sweatshirt Controversy Draws Fred Phelps to Minneapolis 5/8 Fred Phelps brought his hate group from his godhatesfags.com website to Woodbury High School in Minneapolis last Saturday, Phelps and four members of his group protested while 15 counter protesters showed up to combat Phelps' message. Phelps showed up to demonstrate over the high school's decision to bar a student from wearing a "Straight Pride" sweatshirt. Elliot Chambers is suing the district, saying he has a First Amendment right to wear the shirt. Chambers was not grateful for Phelps' support. Chambers told the AP, "I don't really agree with the way he's going about this...he doesn't accurately represent God, and he doesn't represent the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in what he's doing. His message is extremely negative, and I think that he'd doing Woodbury High School and me both a disservice by coming to Woodbury." Phelps and his supporters, mostly Phelps family members, carried signs that bore anti-gay messages, including one that said God laughs at the deaths of homosexuals, and referred to gays with slurs such as "fags," "queers" and similar venomous language Man Beaten into Coma Because He Was Thought to be Gay 5/8 The small Pennsylvania town of Middleburg is still in shock after Michael Auker was beaten into a coma after a night of drinking at a neighbor's trailer, then left for two days. The men accused of beating Auker said they beat him because he made homosexual advances towards the brothers. Most people in the town do not believe that Auker is gay. Auker was divorced about six months ago. Auker, who is in critical condition in an area hospital, was near death when a co-worker found him unconscious and bleeding from his head two days after he was beaten. Todd and Troy Clinger were arrested shortly after Auker was discovered. They have plead innocent to attempted homicide and aggravated assault after they allegedly beat Auker into unconsciousness on the porch of Troy Clinger's trailer. Their parents, Gary and Connie Cliner, have been charged with assisting their sons in the attack. Gary Clinger has been charged with recklessly endangering another person, criminal trespass and burglary. Gary Clinger allegedly helped carry Auker back inside the Clinger trailer and leave him on a loveseat. Connie Clinger is charged with solicitation of perjury. The charges against Connie Clinger stem from her alleged efforts to convince the girlfriend of Troy Clinger, Niki Lee White, to lie to police. White was in the trailer at the time of beating and is cooperating with law enforcement. According to the brothers, they were enraged after Auker made sexual advances to them. Authorities say the brothers met in the bathroom of the trailer to plan the attack on Auker and that Todd Clinger said he would kill Auker. Cincinnati Tense in Wake of Indictment of Police Officer in Shooting on Unarmed Man 5/7 Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach was indicted by a grand jury on negligent homicide and obstruction of justice, both misdemeanors, by a Hamilton County Grand Jury in the wake of riots that followed the shooting of Timothy Thomas, 19. Thomas, who is black, was unarmed when Roach, who is white, shot Thomas in an alley. Mayor Charlie Luken declared an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew while the police presence was noticeable as business owners nailed plywood covers over their windows prior to the announcement of the decision of the grand jury. During the riots last month, dozens were injured, more than 800 people were arrested and $250,000 in arson damage and $1.5 to $2 million in damage to city property and overtime costs to the city was sustained. A Hamilton County grand jury indicted 63 people on felony charges related to the rioting. The U.S. Justice department has decided to launch an investigation into police practices in Cincinnati. Attorney General John Ashcroft said that he authorized the investigation into the pattern and practice of racial discrimination, if any exists, into the police department In the past 10 years, 15 black men, but no white men, were shot to death by the Cincinnati police department. US Loses Seats on UN Human Rights Commission and UN Drug Commission 5/7 The United States was voted off the United Nations Human Rights Commission last week and the United Nations Drug Commission this week as more nations are expressing frustration over the US' attitude towards international organizations and treaties. The US was voted off in a secret vote to fill three Western seats for three year terms on the 53-member Human Rights Commission. The US received 29 votes, trailing France, Austria and Sweden. The move was described as an "unequivocally devastating blow" by the president of the UN Association of the United States, William Luers. Luers feared retaliation by the congress. Other counties gaining seats on the board were Bahrian, Pakistan, Croatia, Armenia, Chile, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Uganda. Amnesty International USA called the move "part of an effort by nations that routinely violate human rights to escape scrutiny." Human Rights Watch said the commission was becoming a "rogue's gallery of human rights abusers...[but] it wasn't just enemies. It was friends as well who voted the U.S. out of the commission." In recent years, critics of the United Nations in congress have downplayed U.S. involvement in world organizations, rejected a number of treaties and agreements and built up a huge debt in back payments to the UN. The U.S. owes more than $580 million in UN dues, despite an agreement worked out in December that the U.S. would pay its debt. The measure is held up in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. was also not voted on to the International Narcotics Control Board. The Board monitors compliance with UN drug conventions on substance abuse and illegal drug manufacture and trafficking. The U.S. was voted off the Narcotics Board by the same secret ballot as the Human Rights Commission. Texas Senate Passes James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill 5/7 By a 20-10 vote, the Texas Senate passed a hate crimes bill named after a man who was dragged to his death by white supremacists. This bill strengthens the current Texas hate crimes bill, which does not designate protected groups and has been termed unconstitutional by prosecutors in Texas. This new bill lists protected groups: race, religion, color, gender, disabilities, sexual preference or national origin. The bill now goes back to the Texas House, which previously passed the bill, but without the Senate amendments. Gov. Rick Perry, who has expressed reluctance to sign the bill, said he would decide whether he'd sign the bill when it reached his desk. "I think it's time for Texas to come together to pass a piece of legislation that clearly sends a message that we're not going to allow for hateful acts against Texas citizens," Perry said. Stella Byrd, mother of James Byrd, received a call from the Senate floor after the bill's passage. Byrd said she was very happy and "it just means I can think some positive thoughts about my son. At last something happened from it. I think of what happened to my son, and knowing there's a bill named after it will help me cope better." Dartmouth Frat Faces Charges for Newsletters That Have Date Rape Instructions 5/7 Zeta Psi, a Dartmouth fraternity, faces disciplinary action for publishing newsletters that degrade women and said that the frat had tips on how to commit date rape. The fraternity, on a campus which inspired the movie, "Animal House," is on probation from its national executive committee for the newsletters. Dartmouth police investigated the date rape newsletter, which alluded to "patented date rape techniques," but issued no criminal charges. Another newsletter was titled "More Gratuitous Cancun Porn," and described frat members' sexual escapades. A former member of the frat said that the newsletters were distributed at Zeke Psi as part of a "tradition held in greatest esteem." The fraternity was placed on probation in the 1980's for similar newsletters. Eight Arrests in South Bend, Indiana KKK Rally 5/7 Eight people were arrested Saturday, including the Grand Dragon of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, following a KKK rally at the South Bend, Indiana, courthouse, and the mayor of South Bend wants the Klan to pay for the costs of the rally. The rally, which drew 35 Klan members and 100 anti-Klan protesters, was relatively peaceful. County and city police, some on horseback, lined the street, sharpshooters from both departments were in strategic spots. As the Klan shouted, counter protesters shouted them down. Grand Dragon Rick Loy and his father, Railton Loy, who is the National Knights top leader, spoke in rambling phrases, attacking Jews, immigrants and blacks. "I'd like to apologize for all you who receive food stamps, " Rick Loy said. Most of the Klan member's speeches were punctuated with racial slurs and swear words. The anti-Klan protesters were incensed when Rick Loy made a derogatory remark about a black boy whose body had been pulled from the St. Joseph River on Friday. Protester Oletha Jones said, "I don't want this sugarcoated. Quote exactly what they say, don't say 'the N word' say 'nigger' because that's what they're saying." As the Klan left escorted by police, the Klan members could not remember where they parked their cars and stopped. This allowed the crowd to rush the Klan members. During the fighting, some Klansmen used sticks while fighting with the anti-Klan protesters. Three police officers received minor injuries. Four adult members of the KKK were arrested on disorderly conduct charges and Klansman John Cochran faces three misdemeanor charges of battery to a police officer. A juvenile Klan member was held on battery to a police officer. Two anti-Klan protesters were arrested on disorderly conduct charges. South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke said the Klan staged a venomous rally and that the KKK should be charged financially and criminally for the negative consequences of their rally. The mayor will consult with attorneys to see if the Klan can be sent a bill for about $15,000 to $20,000 it cost the city to provide police protection for the Klan. Mayor Luecke said that he has asked the county prosecutor to determine whether the Klan members can be charged with inciting a riot. Perry, Florida Has Made No Progress Since February Racial Incident 5/7 Perry, Florida, a small city south of Tallahassee, hosted a black caucus last weekend in the aftermath a racial incident in Perry. A few months ago, a bar told a black man, Maryland Legislator Talmadge Branch, he could not drink in the bar, but had to drink in the back room of the bar because he was black. This was the second time a caucus has been held in Perry. The caucus included Rev. Al Sharpton and state Rep. Frederica Wilson. Wilson is chairwoman of the Florida legislature's black caucus. Charles Thomas, a department manager at a Perry K-Mart, related that he had been told by a white employee he asked to stock shelves, "N----r, you don't tell me what to do," and after he reported the incident to the store manager, nothing was done. Thomas also reported that when a black person entered the K-Mart they were followed in a practice called "Code 406." Wayne Dunwoody said black residents who go to Denny's in the early morning have to pay up front for their food, even though the white crowd can pay after they eat. Kenneth Miller, a former corrections deputy said that black inmates were treated more harshly than white inmates in the Taylor County jail. He said he heard racial slurs after he used the prison communications system. Miller was fired after he filed a racial discrimination complaint. He was accused of sleeping on the job, which Miller denies. The black caucus gave Perry failing grades in education, housing, criminal justice and access to businesses. McVeigh Continues to Speak Out Via Letters; Sister Prejean and Gore Vidal Against Death Penalty 5/6 Convicted Oklahoma City bomber
Timothy McVeigh continues to respond to letters from journalists from
his death row jail cell in Terre Haute, Indiana. A series of letters to his
friend, Bob Papovich, was published in the London Observer after Tim
McVeigh told a reporter from the London Observer, ironically named
Tracy McVeigh, to contact Papovich that would explain “why I bombed
the Murrah building.” McVeigh
wrote of his pent-up anger at the government after Ruby Ridge and
Waco, echoing letters received by other journalists, including a
letter he sent to an Oklahoma City TV station, KOCO-TV.
The text of the letters include statements such as:
"When the post-inferno
investigations and inquiries by the Executive and Legislative branches
of government concluded that the federal government had done nothing
fundamentally wrong during the raid of the Branch Davadians at Waco,
the system not only failed the victims who died during that siege but
also failed the citizens of this country. This failure in effect left
the door open for more Wacos.' (Observer) And "Some time after the fact
they received awards, bonus pay and in some cases promotions for their
disgusting and inhumane actions at Waco and Ruby Ridge.” (Observer) And 15. What references did you
use to study the building of the bomb and the engineering of the bomb? McVeigh: A book circulated on
the gun show circuit entitled "Two-Component High-Explosive
Mixtures" (which, I learned later from an FBI 302 of a Dallas
explosives company, had the wrong AN/NM [amonium nitrate/nitromethane]
ratio ; The Turner Diaries; various encyclopedias; and a general
knowledge of science and physics.
(KOCO-TV) Sister Helen Prejean said in
Terre Haute that a more fitting punishment for Timothy McVeigh than
execution would be to keep him locked up for the rest of his life
surrounded by pictures of Oklahoma City bombing victims. "The key moral question
about Timothy McVeigh is if, in the book of justice, anybody deserves
to die, it's Timothy McVeigh," Prejean said at a news conference
Saturday. "But the key question to us, as a society, is who
deserves to kill him?" Prejean was the author of
“Dead Man Walking,” a book turned into an Oscar-winning movie. And author Gore Vidal has
revealed that he will be one of McVeigh’s witnesses at his up-coming
execution on May 16 Vidal
said he is going to see the circus-like atmosphere around the
execution, and that he was invited by McVeigh after his Vanity Fair
article, “The War at Home,” in which Vidal takes the position that
the government is trampling on the Bill of Rights. He said he agreed
with McVeigh on certain subjects, such as the government's botched
raid on a religious sect near Waco, Tex., in which 80 people died, and
the siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in which federal agents killed the
wife and son of separatist Randy Weaver
"I'm interested in his
view of justice -- if that's what he was operating on," Vidal
said. Vidal said he found
McVeigh to be well-read and "intelligent." Vidal has a particular
interest in the story, he said, because his grandfather, Thomas Gore,
was the first U.S. senator from Oklahoma. "I assure you that if
this were about Salt Lake City, I would not be doing this," Vidal
said. Vidal described himself as
"fanatically anti-death penalty" and said he expects the
execution to be "awful." Nonetheless, he said, he is going
to watch McVeigh die to "bear witness" as a historian, according to the Daily Oklahoman.In other
McVeigh news, a media circus is beginning to descend upon Terre Haute. Hotel rooms in the area are sold out and residents near the
prison are renting out lawn space to media outlets. Storeowners are stocking up on bottled water, ice, snacks and
prepared meals to sell to the media, protestors and observers. Schools in Terre Haute will be closed on the day of the execution, and state and federal courts will be closed. All law enforcement days off and vacations have been cancelled. KKK
Cancels Gary, Indiana Rally, Suing Over New Order On Parade Permit Restrictions 5/6 The Ku Klux Klan cancelled a
Saturday rally in Gary, Indiana because they would have had to have
paid a $4935 fee to the city of Gary.
Gary Mayor Scott King recently issued an order that required
any group with a history of violence to pay a security fee when they
apply for a parade permit. The KKK’s attorney, Ken Falk
of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, has asked the mayor to explain
the legal grounds for the order, and advised the Klan to wait until a
U.S. District Judge, James Moody, ruled on the dispute between the
Klan and the city. Mayor King said he based his order on ordinances from other cities, including one in Chicago. The Chicago ordinance calls for a 60 day waiting period for parade permits, and was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Princeton
U Hires Woman as President 5/6 Princeton University, 32 years
after the school first admitted women, has hired Shirley M. Caldwell
Tilghman as the school’s president, its 19th. Tilghman is the director of
Princeton’s Lewis-Sinclair Institute for Integrative Genonomics.
She received her Ph. D in biochemistry from Temple University.
The school’s former presidents include U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Black
Woman in Alabama Blocked from White Sororities 5/6
Melody Twilley, who is black,
decided to rush white sororities when she started at the University of
Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but was denied selection at the all-white
sororities at the university. Despite high grades,
graduation from a prestigious high school with a 3.85 gpa, and
participation in a host of extracurricular activities, and coming from
an upper middle class background, Twilley was not selected to rush any
of the 15 all-white sororities. Of
the 766 girls who tried to get into the white sororities, 631 were
asked to join the groups. Twilley
did not even get past the second round of the four part selection
process. “I was very, very upset,”
said Twilley. “I didn’t know what to think.”
Only three blacks participated in the sorority rush process
last year, but two dropped out during the rush process.
Twilley thinks that she was excluded because she was black.
“I can’t think of any other reason…when you’ve
exhausted all other explanations, that’s the only one that
remains.” There are predominately black sororities at UA and they have admitted white members. FBI
Identifies Suspects in 1996 Bombing of U.S. Troops Barracks in S Retiring FBI Director Louis
Freeh has given the Bush administration a list of people whom he
thinks should be indicted in the 1996 truck bombing of the Khobar
Towers in Saudi Arabia, where U. S. troops were housed, according to a
report in New Yorker Magazine. The
bomb killed 19 U.S. troops. The Saudis, who conducted
their own investigation, has yet to turn over the information to the
U.S. Initial reports
alleged that Iran was involved in the bombing.
National Security Advisor
Condoleezza Rice would not comment on the matter when she was
questioned about it on ABC’s “This Week.”
Rice said these are “legal and judicial matters that are
under review at the Justice Department.”
Rice also said, “right now, Iran is one of the most active
countries in terrorism, for instance, in the Middle East….Iran has
not renounced terrorism. In fact, it promotes it around the world.” In a related development, the
U. S. has closed off the primary supply route Iran has used for about
20 years to fly weaponry and other support to extremist groups in
Lebanon. Groups such as
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah are active in southern Lebanon. Since 1982, Iran flew jumbo
jets over Turkey on their way to Lebanon to supply these groups.
The U.S. has now persuaded Turkey to deny permission for
Iranian 747’s in their air space. Iran has increased their
support and activity in the region in the last seven months.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah has tried to destroy the
U.S. brokered peace talks, according to unnamed U.S. officials.
Iran is the largest financier of these groups, as well as other
terrorist groups, according to U.S. officials. Iran was been named as the top state sponsor of terrorism in the U.S. State Department report on terrorism 2000 report. Cinco de
Mayo Celebrations Held Across the United States 5/6
Cinco de Mayo celebrations,
which celebrates the victory of Mexicans over the French government
imposed on them, were held throughout the nation.
From small gatherings in private homes, to parades, concerts,
wandering Mariachi bands and waving Mexican flags, Mexican Americans
came together to enjoy food, song and camaraderie.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the May 5, 1862
Battle of Puebla, when Mexican soldiers.
In 1861, the new government of President Benito Juarez was
forced to default on its debts to many European governments. In
response, Britain, Spain, and France sent naval forces to Veracruz to
demand payment. However, while the British and Spanish negotiated with
Juarez and withdrew, the French — under Napoleon III — used the
opportunity to carve a new empire out of Mexico. Declaring his
relative, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, ruler of Mexico, Napoleon
ordered 6,000 troops under General Charles Latrille de Lorencez to
march from Veracruz and capture Mexico City. President Juarez sent a rag-tag force of approximately 2,000 Mexicans to the town of Puebla along the French route. There, on May 5, 1862, the French force of 5,000 attacked with the support of heavy artillery. By early evening, the French were forced into retreat. The small, outnumbered Mexican militia had defeated one of Europe's finest armies. It is the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla that Cinco de Mayo celebrates. In Houston, Cinco De Mayo was celebrated with a 110 unit parade that lasted three hours, as well as a festival in a local park.. In Rogers, Arkansas, several hundred people gathered in a community center filled with booths and food stands for Cinco de Mayo. In Southern California, a number of communities held similar celebrations, some large, some small, but all, like the one in Houston, heard shouts of “Viva Mexico” and “Feliz Cinco de Mayo.” Racially
Charged Bugs Bunny Cartoon Left Out of Retrospective 5/6
A Bugs Bunny cartoon
retrospective, which was to feature every Bugs Bunny cartoon every
made, will not have about a dozen cartoons which have been deemed
racially charged. The banned cartoons include Bugs parodying a black-faced Al Jolson, an oafish bucktoothed Eskimo whom Bugs calls “a big baboon,” and another where Bugs distracts a black rabbit hunter by rattling a pair of dice. The cartoons were to air on the Cartoon Network and were to run with a disclaimer that said the cartoons were representative of their time. Warner Brothers, which owns the Wascally Wabbit, started to pull the cartoons back in the 1960’s, in response to the civil rights movement. They also pulled cartoons which stereotyped American Indians about five years ago. National Front, Anti Nazi League Clash at March in Oldham in Britain 5/6 Oldham police
arrested 16 people when the ultra right wing National Front and the
Anti Nazi League clashed in this town 200 miles north of London. The
National Front has called for a march on Oldham after reports of
attacks on whites by South Asian gangs.
Although banned, members of all three groups came to Oldham on
Saturday. Over 500
people showed up to demonstrate. Eleven
whites and five Asians were arrested, and one police officer had minor
injuries when he was hit in the face during a pub raid. Hispanic
City Councilman is San Antonio’s New Mayor 5/6 Ed Garza, a
32-year-old urban planner, beat Tim Bannworf, a 39-year-old attorney
to become the second Hispanic to lead the city of San Antonio out of
an 11 person field. Garza had 58.5%
of the vote, while Bannwolf drew 29.56%.
Election observers said that the deciding factor would be
whether Hispanics or whites had higher voter turnouts, according to
the Associated Press. The last Hispanic mayor of San Antonio was Henry Cisneros, who became Housing Secretary under President Clinton. The last mayor was term-limited. Blacks Moving
South; Children Become More Segregated 5
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