On the day we hear that an internal Justice Department investigation into dismissal of the default judgment against the New Black Panthers has been ordered, the DOJ issues a press release boasting of a significant court victory:
The Justice Department announced that four men who committed three hate crime assaults in response to President Barack Obama’s election victory were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y. Ralph Nicoletti, 19, was sentenced to 108 months in prison; Bryan Garaventa, 18, was sentenced to 60 months; Michael Contreras, 19, was sentenced to 55 months; and Brian Carranza, 21, was sentenced to 70 months.
The Justice Department is rightfully proud of their efforts:
“By their own admission these defendants, motivated by racial hatred and a desire to punish those they believed had voted for Barack Obama, participated in violent attacks that nearly killed one of their victims,”said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Joseph M. Demarest Jr. of the New York Field Office. “Free exercise of the right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy, and a fundamental civil right that the FBI will always safeguard vigorously.”
“It is appalling that such hateful acts of racially motivated violence continue to persist in our nation. These sentences should remind those inspired to violence by hate that they will be brought to justice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division. “We applaud the prosecutors and law enforcement agencies that participated in this investigation and prosecution. The Civil Rights Division will remain vigilant in our efforts to combat hate crimes that tear at the very fabric of our great nation and seek to undermine the progress we’ve made in advancing civil rights for all.”
“The significant sentences imposed by the court reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ shocking and deplorable conduct,” stated Benton J. Campbell, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “These sentences send a clear message that those who engage in racially motivated violence that seeks to deprive individuals of their fundamental right to vote will be punished. We are grateful for our partnership with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the FBI and the New York City Police Department in this matter, and I also wish to thank the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.”
This, of course, stands in glaring contrast to the department’s handling of the New Black Panther case, one in which Acting Assistant General Loretta King also played a central role. (She instructed the career attorney who filed the case to dismiss it.)
The cases are not identical. The convictions today do not stem from election violations, although they occurred in the context of an election. And no one doubts that the Justice Department should be commended for prosecuting egregious acts of violence. But the question remains whether the Obama Justice Department simply doesn’t conceive of federal civil-rights laws as applying to situations other than the traditional context of black vs. white violence. Is there a different standard when the defendants are African American? A Justice Department source remarks that “it does demonstrate the difference in zeal over two separate clear violations of federal law.”
