Black Panthers and the Justice Department

Black Panthers and the Justice Department

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The New Black Panther Party

Let The Brothers Go

Obama's Justice Department is dropping charges against the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and two of its members who were involved in voter intimidation on Election Day at a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania polling station.

A Justice spokesman said the department decided to take this action after winning an injunction earlier this month against a third member, Samir Shabazz, that prevents him from ever brandishing a weapon outside a polling place again as he was charged with doing last November.

BLACK PANTHERS at Polling Places in Philly
Shabazz was one of the three persons from the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, charged with voter intimidation last January in a lawsuit filed under the Voting Rights Act. Shabazz will not face any jail time or a fine.

"Claims were dismissed against the other defendants based on a careful assessment of the facts and the law," DOJ spokesman Alejandro Miyar said in a statement. "The Department is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who intimidate, threaten or coerce anyone exercising his or her sacred right to vote." giggle!

On Election Day, two men in uniforms stood outside the polling station with one of them holding a police-style baton weapon and saying he was providing security there. Justice has alleged that person was Shabazz.

In January, Justice said in a criminal complaint that the chairman of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense confirmed its members were stationed at that location as part of a nationwide effort to deploy people at polling stations.

Combat boots, leather jackets, military-style berets and a billy club-- and notice how he's brandishing it -- no intimidation there. I can just see little old white ladies deciding that Obama was going to win anyway, so why bother.

Shabazz
That's one scary-looking guy. He would have given me a moments pause, swinging his police baton at the entrance to the polling station. I'd have gotten the message.

Obviously, Obama's Justice Department was just displaying some of the Obamamessiah's vaunted empathy -- "based on a careful assessment of the facts and the law" -- what a hoot! -- obviously, the biggest fact was the guy is a brother -- but Justice warned him not to do it again -- that's the ticket.

Obama and Holder would prefer to prosecute George Bush and Dick Cheney for war crimes.

Obama has replaced Justice's blindfold with shades.

Update: Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews.

Career lawyers pursued the case for months, including obtaining an affidavit from a prominent 1960s civil rights activist who witnessed the confrontation and described it as "the most blatant form of voter intimidation" that he had seen, even during the voting rights crisis in Mississippi a half-century ago.

The lawyers also had ascertained that one of the three men had gained access to the polling place by securing a credential as a Democratic poll watcher, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Washington Times.

The career Justice lawyers were on the verge of securing sanctions against the men earlier this month when their superiors ordered them to reverse course, according to interviews and documents. The court had already entered a default judgment against the men on April 20.

Update: Extcerpts from the affidavit of Bartle Bull, a civil rights attorney who served in the mid-60s as a lawyer with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Mississippi. He worked closely with Charles Evers.

I served as an attorney poll observer at the polling place, 1221 Fairmount St, Philadelphia. There I observed two men wearing Black Panther party insignia, black boots and berets. They were positioned in front of the entrance to the polling place.

The shorter of the two men possessed a weapon in the form of a billy-club. I watched the man with the weapon point it at individuals and slap it in his hand.

I watched the two men confront and intimidate voters. They were positioned in a location that forced every voter to pass in close proximity to them. The weapon was brandished in plain sight of voters.

I watched the two men interfere with the work of other poll observers whom the uniformed men believed did not share their preferences politically.

In my opinion, the men created an intimidating presence at the entrance to a poll. In all of my experience in politics, in civil rights litigation...I have never encountered or heard of another instance where armed and uniformed men blocked the entrance to a polling location. Their clear purpose was to intimidate voters.

I heard the shorter man (Shabazz) make a statement towards white poll observers that "you are about to be ruled by a black man, cracker."

Update: When confronted by Philadelphia Police, Black Panther Jerry Jackson stated that he was "an official watcher" -- meaning that he had been appointed by a party or candidate to observe the election at the polling location. Only voters, election board workers, and watchers may enter a polling location. The New Black Panther Party isn’t an officially recognized political party in Philadelphia, so they couldn’t appoint him. So who gave this guy a credential?

We already reported here that Jackson is an elected member of the Philadelphia Democratic Committee. And a document obtained from the Philadelphia Board of Elections confirms he was "representing the Democratic Party" at the polls in November.

Here is a copy of the watcher certificate he was issued and below is some of his "official" activity.

Definitely looks like a case of Respondeat Superior by the Democratic Party.

Black Panther Answers Overdue

Philadelphia's, The Bulletin, is reporting that the Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Gerald A. Reynolds, has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder seeking answers to their questions about a voter intimidation case in Philadelphia involving the New Black Panther Party (NBPP). It considers the responses "overdue."

The letter, dated September 30, 2009, is seemingly an unprecedented action. It asks for Mr. Holder to "instruct Department officials to fully cooperate" with the Commission's investigation, as required by federal law.

The correspondence noted that the Commission still has not received any of the documents they requested in their initial June inquiries. It has questions surrounding the "unusual decision" by the DOJ to dismiss the case against two of the three defendants and the equally unusual injunction obtained against the third defendant.

It needs this information because the Commission is responsible to investigate voting rights deprivations and evaluate federal enforcement of federal voting rights laws. They want to form an independent opinion about the DOJ's enforcement actions and the potential impact on future voter intimidation enforcement. It may also try "to determine whether any decisions in the case were induced or affected by improper influences."

The communication reminded Mr. Holder that Congress mandates that, "all Federal agencies shall fully cooperate with the Commission to the end that it may effectively carry out its functions and duties." It wants Mr. Holder to identify the person responsible for complying with the requests.

The Commission voted in September to make its review of the implications of the NBPP matter the subject of its annual enforcement report. The report focuses on a selected area of civil rights enforcement.

The letter concludes by cautioning Mr. Holder that if he does not respond by October 14, they will contact the DOJ personnel involved directly.

The DOJ filed a lawsuit in January under the Voting Rights Act against the NBP and three of its members alleging the defendants intimidated voters last election day. The complaint, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, alleged that NBP members Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson were standing at a polling location wearing a military-style NBP uniform while Mr. Shabazz repeatedly brandished a "police-style baton weapon."

The complaint said NBPP Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz confirmed that the placement of Mr. Shabazz and Mr. Jackson was part of a nationwide effort to deploy members at polling locations. The Justice Department initially sought an injunction to prevent any similar future actions.

None of the defendants responded to the lawsuit. However, instead of immediately filing for a routine default judgment, the DOJ voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit for two of the defendants -- including Mr. Jackson, who was a Democratic Party poll watcher.

The DOJ only obtained an injunction against Samir Shabazz, which was granted on May 18. However, this has been criticized because it contained none of the usual conditions for such a case.