# The latest Racist Fire to be fanned? Black Panther charges dropped. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957 "2010-07-08T14:10:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/21 "2010-07-08T17:29:27Z")
We did this one like last year, when the charges were originally dropped/reduced, but I can’t find the thread. I don’t know why the story has suddenly come up again. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/22 "2010-07-08T17:32:14Z")
[Here](http://www.justice.gov/crt/voting/misc/philadelphia_bpp_comp.php) is the complaint filed by the Department of Justice against the Black Panthers. I was wrong on one point. Apparently some black voters were threatened, too. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/23 "2010-07-08T17:33:04Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’m having a tough time find legitimate news articles on this story. Lots of stuff from WND and the Washington Times. Some Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. > > The links in the OP are videos (which I can’t watch) and Investor’s Business Daily (which I can’t trust. They are the dudes that said that Stephen Hawking would be dead if he were British). > > So, can someone hook me up with some actual factual reporting? Sorry to link to the clearly biased Media Matters, [but it has much more information than the opinion piece provided by the OP.](http://mediamatters.org/research/201007070020). Apparently, these idjits are standing outside a polling place, one with a nightstick, allegedly saying racially charged things. I haven’t seen the video, but the case gets investigated and the DOJ (note: Bush’s DOJ) decides there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute these guys criminally, but do file a civil complaint asking that an injunction be instituted against 4 people. Obama’s DOJ then gets an an injunction against one of the 4 (I’m pretty sure it’s the nightstick guy), and the complaint against the other 3 are dismissed. There’s other stuff in there that aren’t really important. Bush’s failure to prosecute 3 anti-immigration guys, one with a gun, at a polling place. The politicalization of the DOJ under Bush (which is a huge deal to me, but sorely underreported in the news, go figure). Stuff to score political points and try to play the “you’re a hypocrite” game that so many people here love to play. But not really relevant to this manufactured outrage. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/24 "2010-07-08T17:35:01Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > I was wrong on one point. Apparently some black voters were threatened, too. "Civil Rights commissioner: “[N]o citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting.” In an April 23 hearing on the DOJ’s decision in the case, Civil Rights Commissioner Arlan Melendez stated that “no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting,” which “was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did.” "Main Justice: A July 2 Main Justice article reported that “no voters at all in the Philadelphia precinct have come forward to allege intimidation. …” ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/25 "2010-07-08T17:35:32Z")
> [@Dick\_Dastardly](#): > > [http://mediamatters.org/research/201007070001?newsref=www.eschatonblog.com](http://mediamatters.org/research/201007070001?newsref=www.eschatonblog.com) Ahhh there’s some of the info I was looking for. Very pertinent link. A couple of things for those who won’t read through it. > [@](#): > > \*\*Bush administration \*\*decided to file a civil, not a criminal, complaint. In his May 14 testimony before the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said that the Bush administration’s Justice Department “determined that the facts did not constitute a prosecutable violation of the criminal statutes” but instead decided to “file a civil action on January 7, 2009.” > [@](#): > > **No voters have alleged intimidation stemming from incident** > Civil Rights Commissioner: “[N]o citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting.” While O’Reilly, Wiehl, and Guilfoyle stated or suggested that the New Black Panthers had engaged in voter intimidation, in an April 23 hearing on the DOJ’s decision in the case, Civil Rights Commissioner Arlan Melendez noted that “no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting,” which “was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did.” > [@](#): > > MELENDEZ: My remarks are going to be brief because I think far too much of our time has been consumed on this seemingly unnecessary investigation. Citizens should be able to vote without intimidation, and it is our Commission’s duty to investigate complaints from citizens that their voting rights have been infringed. > > In this case, however, \*\*no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated \*\*from voting at the Fairmount Avenue Polling Station in 2008. This absence of voter intimidation was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did. IOW, it’s all a load of crap that any commentator with an ounce of integrity and a few seconds to research wouldn’t repeat on air. It sure seems like Orielly and Fox and finks are either just lying through there teeth or demonstrating what bias incompetent jobs they are doing. {I guess the former} It does not serve the public in any way to repeat this bullshit and fan the fires of division and racism. Even that portion of the public eager to believe the worst. Responsible citizens from both parties and no parties have to reject this kind of blatent dishonesty. I’m truly amazed that Fox does it so often and continues to get high ratings. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/26 "2010-07-08T17:48:09Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’m having a tough time find legitimate news articles on this story. Lots of stuff from WND and the Washington Times. Some Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. > > The links in the OP are videos (which I can’t watch) and Investor’s Business Daily (which I can’t trust. They are the dudes that said that Stephen Hawking would be dead if he were British). > > So, can someone hook me up with some actual factual reporting? I had the same problem. I couldn’t find any decent links covering the story. Sorry! It sure looks to me like something minor did happen. Two guys were there, one with a nightstick. The police were called and they told him he had to go. The other guy remained. A couple of nasty comments were made and are repeated in the articles to try and demonstrate intimidation. Nothing in the videos Even the republican poll watcher they interviewed admitted that he walked in no problem and the 2nd guy lives nearby and had every right to stand there. It appears the guy who shot the video and the guy interviewed were not voters but republican poll watchers. It occurs to me that those two may have been there to {in their own minds at least} prevent voter intimidation. In the videos you see a young girl on a cell who seems totally unconcerned about the presence of the BPs ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/27 "2010-07-08T17:51:09Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > "Civil Rights commissioner: “[N]o citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting.” In an April 23 hearing on the DOJ’s decision in the case, Civil Rights Commissioner Arlan Melendez stated that “no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting,” which “was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did.” "Main Justice: A July 2 Main Justice article reported that “no voters at all in the Philadelphia precinct have come forward to allege intimidation. …” From [_Human Events_:](http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35207) > [@](#): > > Bartle Bull submitted an affidavit in U.S. v. New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, et al submitted into the record at the Judiciary Committee markup. Bull was an attorney poll observer in Philadelphia on November 4, 2008. In the mid-1960s, Bull participated in civil rights lawsuits against municipalities in Mississippi and worked closely with Charles Evers to help defend the voting rights of African-Americans in Mississippi. He served as campaign manager in New York for both the Robert F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter presidential campaigns. He is man well versed in proper voting procedures and hardly a right-wing partisan. > > In the affidavit, Bull stated, “Their clear purpose and intent was to intimidate voters with whom they did not agree. Their views were, in part, made apparent by the uniform of the organization the two men wore and the racially-charged statements they made. For example, I heard the shorter man make a statement directed toward white poll observers that, ‘you are about to be ruled by a black man, cracker.’ To me, the presence and behavior of the two uniformed men was an outrageous affront to American democracy and the rights of voters to participate in elections without fear. It would qualify as the most blatant form of voter intimidation I have encountered in my life in political campaigns in many states, even going back to the work I did in Mississippi in the 1960s.” Please quit pretending there are no reliable witnesses. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/28 "2010-07-08T17:59:44Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > “Article” or “editorial”? > > I’ve found [this article](http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20100703_Former_U_S__prosecutor_to_testify_on_New_Black_Panthers_charges.html): > > “Through” and “until” aren’t the same word, Investor’s Business Daily. Oh, and Stephen Hawking is **still** British. I think the story has come up again because of Adams resignation over the case although I liked this > [@](#): > > Now, one of the prosecutors, J. Christian Adams, has resigned from the Justice Department amid a widening flap over the case. He said he was scheduled to testify Tuesday before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in an investigation over dismissal of the charges. > > Adams said Friday that he disagreed with the decision to dismiss charges. Though his name is on the court document seeking the dismissal, Adams said he believes the case should have been pursued. > > “I was just following instructions to dismiss the case,” Adams said in an interview. I wonder what office Adams will be running for or what’s in it for him to make this an issue again. Maybe he’s sincere but there just doesn’t seem to be anything there, and why resign now after months have passed and after signing the dismissal? It’s only a good career move if something is waiting in the wings. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/29 "2010-07-08T17:59:55Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Please quit pretending there are no reliable witnesses. I’m not pretending anything, and I have said absolutely nothing about there being no reliable witnesses. I’m not sure what part of your fevered imagination you pulled that out of, but I’d appreciate it if you put it back. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/30 "2010-07-08T18:01:08Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > My point is that people like you and J.S. Goddess will never admit that the facts really are facts, nor do you realize how silly it is to give such complete trust to Obama’s lapdog media. If you have facts to present I’d be glad to look at them. Do you? Not so far. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/31 "2010-07-08T18:09:34Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > [Here](http://www.justice.gov/crt/voting/misc/philadelphia_bpp_comp.php) is the complaint filed by the Department of Justice against the Black Panthers. I was wrong on one point. Apparently some black voters were threatened, too. That’s the complaint alright. Now how about evidence that those charges are warrented and convictable? If you read a previous link and my excerpts from it you see why the charges were dismissed and an agreement was reached about the weapon. It appears no actual voters filed a complaint. How does that fit in? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/32 "2010-07-08T18:18:44Z")
Well, maybe they are going to appoint the guy with the nightstick to be Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court? ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/33 "2010-07-08T18:43:41Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > From [_Human Events_:](http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35207) > > Please quit pretending there are no reliable witnesses. I think Bull makes a good point but it still is his opinion that the case should have been pursued and there’s no evidence that this incident represented any wide spread problem. He’s the guy in my ORiely link and says he went to seven polling places in Philly but this was the problem he saw at one, that’s one place. He is a relaible witness but he is not a voter at that precinct. That was part of whay changres were dropped. Holder objects but did any voters complain. I think the comment Bull speaks of “ruled by a black man cracker” was not toward a voter but toward a white poll watcher. I’d like to see some more info on who and when these charges were dismissed. ORielly and Bull clearly say Holder. I see a problem with charging the Black Panther Party as a whole rather than individuals. I’d be interested in knowing what the law is but I’d say stationing men in paramilitary outfits within a few feet of the entrance ought to be discouraged for any group. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/34 "2010-07-08T18:46:19Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > If you have facts to present I’d be glad to look at them. Do you? Not so far. An article in \*National Review Online \*about the April 23rd, 2010, meeting of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights [where the Black Panthers attempted to intimidate witnesses to the polling place incident.](http://article.nationalreview.com/432583/voter-intimidation-new-black-panther-style/hans-a-von-spakovsky?page=1) And the facts have always been available to you; you simply prefer to pretend not to see them. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/35 "2010-07-08T18:49:18Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I’m not pretending anything, and I have said absolutely nothing about there being no reliable witnesses. I’m not sure what part of your fevered imagination you pulled that out of, but I’d appreciate it if you put it back. Your quote said that no voters had come forward to allege intimidation. We don’t need them. The evidence is abundant, and you quite clearly are trying to pretend that the facts presented to you in this case are somehow not really facts. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/36 "2010-07-08T19:05:31Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Sorry to link to the clearly biased Media Matters, [but it has much more information than the opinion piece provided by the OP.](http://mediamatters.org/research/201007070020). > > Apparently, these idjits are standing outside a polling place, one with a nightstick, allegedly saying racially charged things. I haven’t seen the video, but the case gets investigated and the DOJ (note: Bush’s DOJ) decides there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute these guys criminally, but do file a civil complaint asking that an injunction be instituted against 4 people. Obama’s DOJ then gets an an injunction against one of the 4 (I’m pretty sure it’s the nightstick guy), and the complaint against the other 3 are dismissed. > > There’s other stuff in there that aren’t really important. Bush’s failure to prosecute 3 anti-immigration guys, one with a gun, at a polling place. The politicalization of the DOJ under Bush (which is a huge deal to me, but sorely underreported in the news, go figure). Stuff to score political points and try to play the “you’re a hypocrite” game that so many people here love to play. But not really relevant to this manufactured outrage. It seems to me that what happened fits the actual evidence. Charges filed against the Black panthers as a whole were dismissed {by Bush DOJ} and charges against the loudmouth with the weapon were carried through by Obama and a plea bargin reached. We have more elections coming up and it will be interesting to see if the BP send out any large number of poll watchers. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/37 "2010-07-08T20:35:05Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > That’s the complaint alright. Now how about evidence that those charges are warrented and convictable? If you read a previous link and my excerpts from it you see why the charges were dismissed and an agreement was reached about the weapon. > [http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20100704\_Back\_Channels\_\_Panther\_case\_dismissal\_needs\_explanation.html](http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20100704_Back_Channels__Panther_case_dismissal_needs_explanation.html) > It appears no actual voters filed a complaint. How does that fit in? So you don’t think it’s voter intimidation to stand in front of a polling station in fatigues holding a night stick and call people racial names? Really? One of the (new) black panthers in question is on record as advocating [killing white people](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPzZ2hHewIE). They are literally the black version of the KKK. As for the Media Matters attempt at sweeping this under the rug, That’s just sad. The case went was filed [January 7, 2009](http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/January/09-crt-014.html). Per this Philly article, it was [dropped May of 2009](http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20100704_Back_Channels__Panther_case_dismissal_needs_explanation.html)with an agreement not to carry weapons to a polling place until 2012. That begs the question why is it OK to do it again in 2012? It appears that Eric Holder is approving of the same thing again during the next election, and by extension, the man who put him in office. According to Adams, some of his coworkers: **“argued that the law should not be used against black wrongdoers because of the long history of slavery and segregation.” After the case was dismissed instructions were given that no more cases against racial minorities like the Black Panther case would be brought by the [Justice Department’s] Voting Section.”** This is corroborated in part by statements made by Christopher Coates who said in January: \*\*“America is increasingly a multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural society. For such a diverse group of people to be able to live and function together in a democratic society, there have to be certain common standards that we are bound by and that protect us all. … For the Department of Justice to enforce the Voting Rights Act only to protect members of certain minority groups breaches the fundamental guarantee of equal protection. …” The remarks of Coates, a former ACLU lawyer, were reported by National Review Online when he stepped down as Voting Section chief. In his piece Monday, Adams suggests that Coates, who also worked on the Panther case, was transferred because of his “race-neutral enforcement” of the law. \*\* If this is true then the Attorney General should be removed immediately and be disbarred. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/38 "2010-07-08T20:36:09Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Your quote said that no voters had come forward to allege intimidation. Yes. It did. Which, as you should have been able to tell, is NOT the same thing as saying there were no reliable witnesses. Two different things. One is what I quoted, and one is the what you created in your [insert descriptor here] head. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/39 "2010-07-08T20:40:23Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > An article in \*National Review Online \*about the April 23rd, 2010, meeting of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights [where the Black Panthers attempted to intimidate witnesses to the polling place incident.](http://article.nationalreview.com/432583/voter-intimidation-new-black-panther-style/hans-a-von-spakovsky?page=1) And the facts have always been available to you; you simply prefer to pretend not to see them. Not unbiased but interesting. He kinda hangs himself with this > [@](#): > > The very fact that the NBPP showed up in force refutes the claim made by the DOJ’s leadership that the case was dismissed because there was no evidence of coordination between the national organization and the Philadelphia chapter No, the fact some BP showed up at the hearing doesn’t prove anything and I think the point is in order to actually puruse a case against the BPs as a group rather than the individuals you have to prove, according to the law that there was coordination between the national group and those two indifviduals. Menedez who is somewhat mocked in the article is a Commisioner for Civil Rights. He and that meeting are mentioned in a previous link and he is quoted > [@](#): > > : My remarks are going to be brief because I think far too much of our time has been consumed on this seemingly unnecessary investigation. Citizens should be able to vote without intimidation, and it is our Commission’s duty to investigate complaints from citizens that their voting rights have been infringed. > > In this case, however, no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting at the Fairmount Avenue Polling Station in 2008. This absence of voter intimidation was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did. > > This absence of voter intimidation was clear to the members of this Commission as well, or at least it should’ve been. Our investigation has been going on now for the better part of a year. We have wasted a good deal of our staff’s time, and the taxpayers’ money. Here’s another thing about the witnesses, from your cite. > [@](#): > > Hill and Mauro were there for only a short time If the problem was so aggregious and voters were walking away because of intimidation, why were they only there a short time? Is it because once the nightstick was gone there was no problem? Here’s another question I have The point of intimidation is to stop voters from voting for the guy you don’t like. What was the predominant population voting at that particular polling place. If it’s black then it doesn’t make sense to keep voters away that are likley to vote for Obama does it? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957/40 "2010-07-08T20:59:58Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > The point of intimidation is to stop voters from voting for the guy you don’t like. What was the predominant population voting at that particular polling place. If it’s black then it doesn’t make sense to keep voters away that are likley to vote for Obama does it? They were specifically intimidating white people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-latest-racist-fire-to-be-fanned-black-panther-charges-dropped/545957.md?page=3)