By Matthew
Boyle - The Daily Caller 7:02 PM 04/09/2012
In a letter to Attorney
General Eric Holder on Monday, obtained exclusively by
The Daily Caller, a family member of George Zimmerman asked the nation’s top
law enforcement officer why he has chosen to not arrest members of the New
Black Panther Party for their rhetoric — some of which may fit the
federal government’s definition of a hate crime — throughout the Trayvon Martin case.
The family member
believes the reason Holder hasn’t made those arrests is because he, like the
members of the New Black Panther Party, is black.
“I am writing you to ask
you why, when the law of the land is crystal clear, is your office not
arresting the New Black Panthers for hate crimes?” the family member wrote to
Holder.
“The Zimmerman family is
in hiding because of the threats that have been made against us, yet the DOJ
has maintained an eerie silence on this matter. These threats are very public.
If you haven’t been paying attention just do a Google search and you will find
plenty. Since when can a group of people in the United States put a bounty on
someone’s head, circulate Wanted posters publicly, and still be walking the
streets?”
The New Black Panthers
have issued ultimatums to the Sanford authorities, saying they want Zimmerman
arrested “dead or alive.” They have placed a bounty on Zimmerman’s head, and
have called for the building of an army of vigilantes to track him down and
effect a citizen’s arrest.
Most recently, the New
Black Panther Party has called for violence.
In a conference call
recorded over the weekend, the militant group said it planned to “suit up and
boot up” and prepare for the next stages of the “race war.”
So far, however, no
members of the New Black Panther Party have faced legal consequences.
After citing the U.S.
Department of Justice’s published definition of a “hate crime,” the Zimmerman
family member wrote that there is “no other explanation” for Holder’s failure
to authorize arrests of New Black Panther Party members, other than the fact
that Holder himself is black.
“I would surmise that,
based on your own definition of a hate crime, you have chosen not to arrest
these individuals based solely on your race,” the family member wrote to
Holder, insisting too that the was “NO racial component” to the “tragedy” that
occurred on the late February night when Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin.
The Daily Caller has
confirmed the identity of the Zimmerman family member but is withholding that
person’s identity out of concern for the family’s safety.
The family member also
criticized members of Congress who have forcefully criticized police for
failing to arrest Georgfe Zimmerman, as well as “the Congressional Black
Caucus, the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Spike Lee, [and] President
Barack Obama,” adding that “many” who have commented on the case without having
a complete understanding of the facts “no doubt understand the laws of our
great nation.”
Noting President Obama’s
White House event last week celebrating the 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,”
Zimmerman’s family member drew a novel comparison to the American literary
classic.
“Strangely enough this
case has a lot of parallels to those of Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’”
the letter to Attorney General Holder read. “George Zimmerman has been treated
much like Tom Robinson was, chastised for not being the right (or wrong) color
and found guilty based on race factors.
“You have the
opportunity to act as Atticus [Finch] and do the right thing. Your boss would
refer to this as a ‘teachable moment.’”
DOJ spokeswoman Tracy
Schmaler has not responded to The Daily Caller’s request for comment on why
Holder hasn’t authorized the arrest of any New Black Panther Party members, nor
has she answered whether that decision is related to Holder’s race.
Zimmerman Family Letter to Eric Holder -- Email Redacted
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/09/zimmerman-family-challenges-holder-on-new-black-panthers-says-no-arrests-based-solely-on-your-race/#ixzz1rb89N4p9
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