http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/s ... ers-walker
Voting-rights advocates have asked Wisconsin’s attorney general to investigate a Facebook group that purported to call for armed individuals to confront voters at the polls in November.
The Facebook group was updated to claim that it was an attempt to hoax the “liberal” media after the Daily Kos and the Capital Times drew attention to the its call for armed poll watchers to identify people who signed petitions to recall Governor Walker in 2012 and who may have pending legal issues. The posts relating to the calls for armed poll monitors were removed.
Before the Facebook group was updated, the Politicususa.com site posted an article about the group’s focus on African American voters and included a screen shot of a Twitter conversation between a user named Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia and a user identified as Patrick Murray.
The Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia said: “We prefer our people be armed. Some will be heading to some of Milwaukee, Racine and Beloit’s worst areas. We will be armed with a list of people to look for at each location.”
Patrick Murray replied: “Just so you are aware, I will not report Republicans. Only Democrats”.
Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia said: “We will be targeting heavy Democrat districts, so it is doubtful this will even be an issue.”
Milwaukee, Racine and Beloit are cities with relatively large minority populations. The state’s attorney general, JB Van Hollen and the Milwaukee district attorney did not respond to calls from the Guardian asking for comment on the calls for an investigation, made by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause.
Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, told the Guardian that such an exchange constitutes conspiracy to commit a felony – voter intimidation. “They call themselves a militia, although who knows, it could be two guys with nothing better to do sitting in their basement,” Kaminski stated in a phone interview. Still, she said, “whether anybody will go to the polls or not, they’re already committing a crime because conspiring to commit a crime is a felony.”
wisconsin poll watcher militia
From the Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia Facebook page. Photograph: Facebook
Screen shots of the Facebook page posted on the Daily Kos show that the cover photo used by the Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia feature African Americans standing in line at what is presumably a polling station. Another screen shot announces a training session for the poll watchers, which includes target practice.
“Attention all members: militia training will be at HQ on September 20, 2014 at 0930. We will hand out updated watch lists, duty assignments, and discuss rules and regulations. Expect it to take around 2-3 hours. After our discussion we will be headed to the range for anyone who wants to participate.”
Later in the week, the Facebook group was updated with the title “You’ve Been Trolled by Journalists with Zero Credibility” and was peppered with comments from the page’s owner, such as: “ This page was made by one person. No conspiracy, no militia, no paid funding ... just one guy.”
