Day: August 4, 2009

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Panel blasts Panther case dismissal
— “The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is demanding that the Justice Department explain why it recently dismissed a civil complaint against members of the New Black Panther Party who disrupted a Philadelphia polling place during last year’s election, saying the department has offered only ‘weak justifications.'”
— SPLC lists Black Panthers as “black separatist” “hate group”

Arizona: Chemical attack was hate crime against NW side couple, official says
— Arizona Dail Star reports:
— “Chemicals left near a home on the northwest side that created a noxious cloud were part of a hate crime attack, a sheriff’s official said Sunday evening.”
— “The attack was racially motivated against a man and woman who live in the Casas del Oro Norte community in the 2800 block of West Magee Road, near North Shannon Road, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.”
— “The home’s front door and garage door had also been sealed shut from the outside with a spray foam sealer, she said. An incendiary device was also found near the garage door, she said.”
— “The situation started about 4:50 a.m. Sunday when homeowners reported they smelled an unusual odor. Deputies found several inches of an unspecified chemical liquid in a yard nearby. They also found what appears to be chlorine tablets covered in liquid in the yard.”
— “The chemicals produced a ‘flammable vapor’ that made a white cloud, which floated toward the southwest, mostly south toward Interstate 10, she said.”