Federal Agents... clearly established that airport security searches should be aimed only at detecting weapons or explosives. “Acheckpoint search tainted by ‘general law enforcement objectives’ such as uncovering contraband evidencing general criminal activity is improper,” the judge wrote. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus has filed notice that it will appeal the judge’s order. Mr. Bierfeldt’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, seeks to bar TSA from “conducting suspicion-less pre-flight searches of passengers or their belongings for items other than weapons or explosives.” Mr. Bierfeldt, who was released by TSA after an official in plain clothes saw political materials in his bag and asked if the cash was campaign contributions, said he just wants to save others from harassment by TSATSATSA. “It’s the principle of the matter,” he said. “I didn’t break any laws and was no threat.” Latino Gang Suspects Accused of Racial Attacks LOS ANGELES -- Federal indictments were unsealed Thursday against 147 alleged members of a Latino street gang charging them with a range of violent crimes, including racially motivated attacks against African-Americans, in a major gang sweep. Roughly 1,400 law-enforcement officers -- including 17 separate SWAT teams -- from local, state and federal agencies participated in raids that began early Thursday morning. The sweep resulted in the arrests of 64 suspects. Of the others named in the indictments, 35 were already in custody and 48 remained at large. The indictments, announced by U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien and other law-enforcement officials, mark the latest episode in a long-running gang crackdown in Southern California, regarded by many as the nation’s street-gang capital. The seven-county area covered by the U.S. attorney’s office is home to an estimated 100,000 gang members out of the nation’s estimated 800,000 total. The indictments targeted alleged members and associates of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang. Hawaiian Gardens is the smallest city in Los Angeles County, covering less than one square mile, and has a largely Latino population of about 15,000. The indictments allege that defendants committed criminal acts that included racketeering, murder, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking. One of the indictments alleged that Varrio gang members “take pride in their racism.” Members often referred

to themselves as the “Hate Gang,” and “expressed a desire to rid the city of Hawaiian Gardens of all African Americans,” the indictment charged. Among the alleged criminal acts by the defendants were a string of attacks on black residents. Such alleged racially motivated attacks have been raised in previous criminal cases. For instance, last fall, Mr. O’Brien’s office filed federal criminal charges against alleged members of a Santa Barbara, Calif., Latino gang. Among the allegations were “hate crimes against African Americans.” Those cases are in various stages in federal court, according to a prosecutor handling the cases. While any racially motivated crime is a “devastating” problem, “a lot of the violence is a struggle over turf and dominance of drug-distribution [between rival gangs],” said Joe Hicks, vice president of Community Advocates, a nonpartisan Los Angeles group that aims to advance inter-racial dialogue. “The racial angle has not been the main characteristic of gang violence, though there has been clearly a fair amount of it.” In October 2007, law-enforcement officials carried out similar raids in South Los Angeles, which targeted members of the Florencia 13 gang. Authorities accused the gang of targeting African Americans in multiple attacks. Also that year, four members of The Avenues, a gang from Highland Park, an enclave northeast of downtown Los Angeles, were convicted of hate crimes for killing an African American man. Prosecutors said they engaged in a campaign to drive blacks from that neighborhood. Scholars who specialize in gang violence say that such killings aren’t the norm. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that black offenders were nearly eight times more likely to kill another black person than to kill a Hispanic, and Hispanic offenders were nearly twice as likely to kill another Hispanic. The investigation of the Varrio gang, law-enforcement officials said, was sparked four years ago by the murder of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy by a member of that gang. That gang member was sentenced to death in 2007 for the killing. NAFA’s Telephone Number is 1-886-NAFAHELP

 

Previous page< > Next Page