Cynthia McKinney Accused Of Hitting Officer

Gold9472

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U.S. Rep. McKinney Accused Of Hitting Officer

http://www.channeloklahoma.com/politics/8343769/detail.html

(Gold9472: Time to get the posse together? Remember, her house was vandalized not too long ago.)

POSTED: 3:41 pm CST March 29, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., has been accused of hitting a Capitol Hill police officer.

Sources told WSB-TV in Atlanta that McKinney was involved in a disagreement with the officer at a security checkpoint at the Capitol.

One of the sources, a member of the House Republican Conference, confirmed that McKinney struck the officer.

The House sergeant-at-arms and a high ranking member of the Capitol Hill Police Department met with McKinney in her office Wednesday afternoon.

McKinney has refused multiple requests for a comment on the reports.

Capitol Hill police are also refusing comment.
 
Ga. Congresswoman in Scuffle With Police

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032901981_pf.html

By LAURIE KELLMAN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 29, 2006; 6:43 PM

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Cynthia McKinney and a police officer scuffled Wednesday after the Georgia Democrat entered a House office building unrecognized and refused to stop when asked, according to U.S. Capitol Police.

McKinney, a sixth-term congresswoman who represents suburban Atlanta, struck the officer according to one account, a police official said, adding there were conflicting accounts. The officer, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident, spoke only on condition of anonymity.

No charges were filed, police said.

Officials in McKinney's office refused two requests for comment.

Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said only that senior officials have been made aware of the incident and are investigating.

Members of Congress do not have to walk through metal detectors as they enter buildings on the Capitol complex. They wear lapel pins identifying them as members.

McKinney routinely doesn't wear her pin and is recognized by many officers, the police official said, adding that she wasn't wearing it when she entered a House office building early Wednesday.

By one police account, she walked around a metal detector and an officer asked her several times to stop. When she did not, the officer tried to stop her, and she then struck the officer, according to that account.

McKinney was defeated in 2002 after she implied on a talk radio program that the Bush administration might have had advance notice of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She won back the seat two years later with 64 percent of the vote.

Republicans circulated an e-mail noting that McKinney's party the same day announced an election-year "affirmation" of their commitment to shoring up the nation's security.

"On a day when the Democrats unveil their national security agenda, it's probably not a good idea to allegedly strike a police officer," said Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
 
Lawmaker scuffles with Capitol police
Accounts conflict after incident involving Georgia Democrat

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/29/mckinney.scuffle.ap/index.html

(Gold9472: Notice the difference in AP stories? Notice what CNN is willing to print, and isn't?)

Wednesday, March 29, 2006; Posted: 6:17 p.m. EST (23:17 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Cynthia McKinney and a police officer scuffled Wednesday after the Georgia Democrat entered a House office building unrecognized and refused to stop when asked, according to U.S. Capitol Police.

McKinney, a six-term congresswoman who represents suburban Atlanta, struck the officer according to one account, a police official said, adding there were conflicting accounts of exactly what happened. The officer, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident, spoke only on condition of anonymity.

McKinney's office did not immediately return a call for comment.

Members of Congress do not have to walk through metal detectors as they enter buildings on the Capitol complex. They wear lapel pins identifying them as members.

McKinney routinely doesn't wear her pin and is recognized by many officers, the police official said, adding that she wasn't wearing it when she entered a House office building early Wednesday.

By one police account, she walked around a metal detector and an officer asked her several times to stop. When she did not, the officer tried to stop her, and she then struck the officer, the official said.

McKinney was defeated in 2002 after she implied on a talk radio program that the Bush administration might have had advance notice of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She won back the seat two years later with 64 percent of the vote.
 
McKinney Cancels News Conference

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/8343403/detail.html

POSTED: 4:21 pm EST March 29, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Capitol Hill police plan to issue an arrest warrant today for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.).

The warrant is related to the incident Wednesday when McKinney allegedly slapped a Capitol Hill police officer.

Charges could range from assault on a police officer, which is a felony carrying a possible five year prison term, to simple assault, which is a misdeamenor.

McKinney has canceled a news conference that she had scheduled for this morning to discuss the incident.

McKinney issued a statement yesterday saying she "deeply regrets" the confrontation with the police officer.

The six-term congresswoman apparently struck a Capitol Police officer when he tried to stop her from entering a House office building without going through a metal detector. Members of Congress wear identifying lapel pins and routinely are waved into buildings without undergoing security checks. The officer apparently did not recognize McKinney, she said in a statement.

Asked on-camera Thursday by Channel 2 Action News whether she intended to apologize, McKinney refused to comment.

"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I appreciate the work that they do. I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now," she said in the statement on her Web site.

Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, engaged in a rhetorical scuffle over the incident.

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday labeled it "a mistake, an unfortunate lack of recognition of a member of Congress." She added that the police officer was not at fault.

"I would not make a big deal of this," said Pelosi, D-Calif.

Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., responded: "How many officers would have to be punched before it becomes a big deal?"

The dustup is the latest in a series of tangles for the roughly 1,200-officer Capitol Police department.

The department faces a difficult task -- protecting 535 members of Congress and the vast Capitol complex in an atmosphere thick with politics and privilege.

The safety of its members became a sensitive issue after a gunman in 1998 killed two officers outside the office of then-Republican Whip Tom DeLay of Texas.

More recently, police obeyed an order by an angry House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., to remove Democrats from a hearing room. Thomas later tearfully apologized on the House floor.

This year, during President Bush's State of the Union address, police drew criticism for first kicking antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan out of the House gallery, and then for evicting the wife of Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla.

Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University, says that while the scuffle was rare for an elected politician, it's unlikely to cost McKinney more than a few votes. Black says McKinney is in damage control -- cutting her losses by not insisting on right or wrong.
 
More recently, police obeyed an order by an angry House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., to remove Democrats from a hearing room. Thomas later tearfully apologized on the House floor.

What the fuggin fug!?!
 
Also, The House Ways and Means Committee sounds like a hip hop group.
 
Partridge said:
More recently, police obeyed an order by an angry House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., to remove Democrats from a hearing room. Thomas later tearfully apologized on the House floor.

What the fuggin fug!?!

Yea, I saw that, and I don't remember hearing about it in the news.
 
Lawyer Says McKinney a Victim in Scuffle
Lawyer Says McKinney a Victim of 'Being in Congress While Black' After Reports of Scuffle

http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/03/31/ap2638730.html

By LAURIE KELLMAN
The Associated Press
4/1/2006

WASHINGTON - A lawyer for Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Georgia congresswoman who had an altercation with a Capitol Police officer, says she was "just a victim of being in Congress while black."

McKinney awaited word Friday on whether she would be charged for apparently striking the officer after she entered a House office building this week unrecognized and did not stop when asked.

Two law enforcement officials said it was unlikely a warrant would be issued this week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Her lawyer, James W. Myart Jr., said, "Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, like thousands of average Americans across this country, is, too, a victim of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials because of how she looks and the color of her skin."

"Ms. McKinney is just a victim of being in Congress while black," Myart said. "Congresswoman McKinney will be exonerated."

A spokeswoman for U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Members of Congress wear identifying lapel pins and routinely are waved into buildings without undergoing security checks. McKinney was not wearing her pin at the time, and the officer apparently did not recognize her, she has said.

"Congresswoman McKinney, in a hurry, was essentially chased and grabbed by the officer," Myart said. "She reacted instinctively in an effort to defend herself."

Several Capitol Police officials have said the officer involved asked McKinney three times to stop. When she did not, he placed a hand on her and she hit him, they said.

In a draft of a statement that McKinney did not release, she said the officer "bodyblocked" her during the incident, and she blamed his failure to recognize her on a recent makeover.

"It is ... a shame that while I conduct the country's business, I have to stop and call the police to tell them that I've changed my hairstyle so that I'm not harassed at work," McKinney said in the draft, which was obtained by WSB-TV of Atlanta and posted on its Web site.

An official close to McKinney said the statement was a "work product" never intended to be released.

A news conference scheduled for Friday morning was canceled. McKinney had issued a statement late Wednesday saying she regretted the confrontation.

"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I appreciate the work that they do. I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now," she said in the statement on her Web site.

Actor, Danny Glover was expected to appear at an early-evening news conference Friday with McKinney at Howard University.

That gave Republicans material to keep the criticism flowing.

"Rep. McKinney appearing with the star of 'Lethal Weapon'? Not exactly the message you want to be sending," said Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

In January, during President Bush's State of the Union address, Capitol Police drew criticism for first kicking anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan out of the House gallery, and then for evicting the wife of Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla.

The department is tasked with protecting the 535 members of Congress and the vast Capitol complex in an atmosphere thick with politics and privilege.

The safety of its members became a sensitive issue after a gunman in 1998 killed two officers outside the office of then-Republican Whip Tom DeLay of Texas.
 
Wayne Madsen's Take


March 31, 2006 -- For all those on the right-wing and the neo-con press like the fatally-flawed neo-con Atlanta Journal-Constitution who are reporting that Georgia Democratic Representative Cynthia McKinney will be arrested next week for an altercation with a Capitol Hill cop, unless the US Constitution has been suspended, McKinney cannot be arrested. The immunity clause -- Article 1, Section 6, of the U.S. Constitution -- protects members of Congress from harassment by law enforcement as they travel to and from Congress in the conduct of the business of either legislative chamber. Although the language is arcane, it appears the Capitol Hill cop was the first to breach the peace as a result of his incompetence in failing to properly identify a member of Congress. Most of these cops just stand around all day, the least they can do is study the provided photographs and learn the names of the members.​

Every lobbyist and journalist worth a salt in Washington is capable of no less. Hey, main stream media, for once, could you please get it right?​

Section 6. Clause 1. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.​

In 1998, 84 Representatives and Senators were released after being stopped by police for driving while intoxicated, clear breaches of peace and felonies. All the members claimed congressional immunity. Congressional immunity is so well protected that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is not even permitted to inspect congressional buildings or offices for workplace hazards.

Note: with the Ford sentencing and the physical abuse of McKinney, is there any doubt that the GOP has been in charge of Washington for so long now, the days of Jim Crow have now re-emerged in the nation's capital? There's a disturbing smell in this town these days -- one of freshly laundered white sheets and pillow cases.​

A reader who periodically visits this site as well as Democratic Underground inquired as to why we don't link to them. Based on the anti-McKinney comments on that site today, I will not link to any site that promotes the comments of Chauncey Gardner-like, TV-watching, lily-white sub-development residents, and unemployed and uninformed nitwits who constantly carp about those who are firmly committed to the left -- Cynthia McKinney, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, George Galloway, Thabo Mbeki, and Mayor Ken Livingstone. On the other hand, anyone who criticizes Israeli expansionists and their AIPAC/ADL allies is roundly locked out of the discussions.​

As far as Democratic Underground is concerned, it's merely a question of "mind over matter." I don't mind them and they don't matter.​
 
I think the officer had a duty to stop her and find out who she was. Weather or not he should have known who she was, he didn't. If he hadn't have stopped her, and she wasn't a congress person and she then went into the building and shot someone, people would be asking why he didn't do his job and stop her. It's a no win situation for this guy. He's a racist if he stops her, he's not doing his job if he doesn't.
 
beltman713 said:
I think the officer had a duty to stop her and find out who she was. Weather or not he should have known who she was, he didn't. If he hadn't have stopped her, and she wasn't a congress person and she then went into the building and shot someone, people would be asking why he didn't do his job and stop her. It's a no win situation for this guy. He's a racist if he stops her, he's not doing his job if he doesn't.

I agree with Beltman 100% on this.

I think all of the racist talk is getting to be a little far-reaching.... like the NAACP needs something to rally around, and they're making a mountain out of a molehill.

She's been talking about "inappropriate touching" by the officer too; it was brought up Friday at the rally I saw on C-SPAN. I guess the video of the altercation will show the truth.
 
I read she has a history of these types of things. Accusing people of racism when something didn't go her way.
 
I think that's what the right want you to think. I honestly haven't looked too deeply into the PTB slandering someone who's helped the movement. Everyone in D.C. has skeletons in the closet. They wouldn't be human not to.
 
Capital Hill aint no public park, its where our nations leaders are. So if a guard tells you to stop you stop or else things are bound to happen. If anything the guard was too easy on her because what if she had a bomb on her, she would have been in range to take people out.

And it's cheap of her to play the race card like she's doing.


And on a side note: I didn't know she got her job back. Good for her.
 
Gold9472 said:
I think that's what the right want you to think. I honestly haven't looked too deeply into the PTB slandering someone who's helped the movement. Everyone in D.C. has skeletons in the closet. They wouldn't be human not to.
How could you call it "slander" when there's a tape of it? It's not exactly "he-said-she-said". Of course, the right's gonna rag on it, but since when can anyone do anything without their opposition jumping on it?
 
Arrest Warrant Sought for Rep. McKinney

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060403/ap_on_go_co/mckinney_scuffle

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Capitol Police on Monday sought an arrest warrant for Rep. Cynthia McKinney after she tangled with a uniformed officer last week. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein said he was reviewing the merits of the case.

"We are working with Capitol Hill police to fully understand and appreciate the incident," principal assistant U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Neither Phillips nor the police department would say what charge was being sought against the six-term Democrat or when any warrant for her arrest might be issued.

In a statement, Capitol Police said it "has referred its investigative findings to the U.S. attorney." Filing such an affidavit is the first step in obtaining an arrest warrant. Only if Wainstein approves the affidavit can Capitol Police officials ask a judge to issue the arrest warrant.

McKinney spokesman Coz Carson acknowledged the investigation.

"We're aware that the wheels are turning in Washington," Carson said. "We have no control over what they decide to do. We will make the appropriate statement and take the appropriate action once we know where they're going."

For her part, McKinney said she expects to represent her suburban Atlanta district for many years.

"Rest assured, I am doing the work they sent me to Washington to do. Nothing is going to keep me away from my responsibilities," McKinney told a crowd of supporters in Atlanta on Monday.

McKinney, 51, scuffled with a police officer on March 29 when she entered a House office building without her identifying lapel pin and did not stop when asked. Several police sources said the officer, who was not identified, asked her three times to stop. When she kept going, he placed a hand somewhere on her and she hit him, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

McKinney issued a statement of regret for the incident but no apology. She and her lawyers have repeatedly declared that she was a victim of inappropriate touching and racism and said they were considering pursuing civil action against the officer.

Asked Monday why she didn't stop as the uniformed officer asked, McKinney framed the matter in terms of race.

"The issue is racial profiling," she said on CNN's "The Situation Room."

She and her attorneys have refused to say whether she hit the officer as alleged. James Myart Jr., her lawyer, suggested on the same program that McKinney acted in self-defense.

Black clergy and lawmakers came to the defense of the firebrand congresswoman on Monday. McKinney smiled as her supporters heaped praise on her leadership and her new look — her trademark cornrows replaced earlier this year by a curly brown afro.

Her supporters tried to minimize the incident — which they called political, not criminal — but they also suggested it was an example of racial profiling. They called publicity surrounding the episode a distraction that is being used by "her enemies" to keep the congresswoman from performing her elected duties.

The Rev. Reverend Darrell D. Elligan, president of Concerned Black Clergy, called McKinney competent, courageous and committed.

"She has our support unconditionally," Elligan said. "She is not a threat to the security of our country."
 
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