Posted on 01/10/2006 5:31:15 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
While much of the country will be focused this week on the highly partisan battles expected during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, five Milwaukee Democratic activists will be fighting their own battle: They are going to trial for allegedly slashing tires outside a Republican Party office during the 2004 presidential election.
The sons of a first-term congresswoman and Milwaukee's former acting mayor are among the five charged with slashing the tires of vans rented by Republicans to drive voters and monitors to the polls on Election Day.
Sowande Omokunde, son of Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and Michael Pratt, the son of former Milwaukee acting mayor Marvin Pratt, are among those charged with criminal damage to property, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The two-week trial is expected to begin Tuesday morning in Milwaukee, after jury selection. The trial will be broadcast live on the Web at Court TV Extra.
The activists are accused of flattening the tires on 25 vehicles rented by the state Republican Party to get out the vote and deliver poll watchers on Nov. 2, 2004.
The GOP rented more than 100 vehicles that were parked in a lot adjacent to a Bush campaign office. The party planned to drive poll watchers to polling places by 7 a.m. and deliver any voters who didn't have a ride.
A criminal complaint said the defendants originally planned to put up Democratic yard signs, placards and bumper stickers at the Republican office in a scheme they called "Operation Elephant Takeover." But the plan was dropped when they learned a security guard was posted at the GOP office, the complaint said.
I wonder how far they can throw the key...
Shhhhh.... Quiet. She's thinking.
OK, she's done.
bump for later
2 fun E
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