Local attorney in thick of federal intimidation case

A lawyer in the U.S. Attorney's Charleston office finds himself in the middle of a growing national story over whether the U.S. Justice Department properly handled a case of voter intimidation two years ago.

And South Carolina's senior senator is asking questions about it, too.

The controversy involves the department's dropping most charges against two members of the New Black Panther Party who patrolled outside a Philadelphia polling place on Election Day in 2008. Both were dressed in black, and one wielded a nightstick, a video shows.

J. Christian Adams, a former Justice Department lawyer, has accused his former bosses of ignoring white voters' rights.

He recently testified before the United States Civil Rights Commission. "There is an open and pervasive hostility within the DOJ towards using the voting laws to protect all races," he wrote Sunday on pajamas media.com. "Instead, the laws are viewed by many in the DOJ -- particularly by the political leadership, such as Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes -- only as tools to protect national racial minorities and increase their voter turnout."

Christopher Coates, the former lead attorney in the Civil Rights Division's voting rights section, transferred to Charleston last year. He could testify soon before the Civil Rights Commission to shed light on Adams' charges.

The U.S. Justice Department declined a requested interview of Coates on Monday.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he is greatly concerned about the Justice Department's handling of the alleged voter intimidation.

"Based upon what I have heard thus far, there appear to be serious, troubling, and substantive allegations raised about DOJ's actions," he told The Post and Courier. "We need to get to the bottom of this. I expect it will be discussed by members of the Judiciary Committee this week when we return to Washington."

Graham said the right to vote free from intimidation or threats of physical harm is a valued right cherished by all Americans. "I believe a full and thorough investigation into these serious allegations should receive strong bipartisan backing in the Congress."

Department of Justice spokesman Tracy Schmaler said Monday that the department enforces laws equally, regardless of race gender or ethnicity.

On Election Day 2008, King Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson, members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, stood near the entrance to a polling place in a largely black Philadelphia neighborhood. Shabazz, who carried a nightstick, was asked to leave by police. Jackson, a certified poll watcher, was allowed to stay.

Before President Barack Obama was sworn in, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against the two men, the New Black Panther Party and its leader, Malik Zulu Shabazz. The defendants never responded to the government's lawsuit, which had the same effect as a guilty plea.

Before any penalties could be handed down -- and after Obama appointed Eric Holder to run the Justice Department -- charges were dropped against everyone but Samir Shabazz. The court prohibited him from displaying a weapon within 100 feet of any Philadelphia polling place through 2012.

Covering the politics of the Lowcountry, South Carolina and the nation.

Schmaler said the department got an injunction against Samir Shabazz. "This was the only defendant known to have brought a weapon to the Philadelphia polling place during the election," she said. "After a thorough review, the top career attorney in the Civil Rights Division determined that the facts and the law did not support pursuing claims against the other defendants in the case. A federal judge determined that the relief requested by the department was appropriate."