PrintAugust 6, 2008
Gravel Urges Crowd to Stalk Prosecutor in Terror Case
Former presidential candidate Mike Gravel urged an audience last week to harrass a prosecutor for charging a convicted terrorist sympathizer with contempt of court:
In the tape, Gravel can be heard telling people to pressure Gordon Kromberg, an assistant U.S. attorney in the eastern district of Virginia, to drop the charges against Sami Al-Arian."Find out where he lives, find out where his kids go to school, find out where his office is, picket him all the time," Gravel said, in an audio tape obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism and provided to FOX News."Call him a racist in signs if you see him. Call him an injustice. Call him whatever you want to call him, but in his face all the time."
Al-Arian is a former Florida professor who pleaded guilty "to providing goods and services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. More serious charges ended up with a hung jury last year.
Currently, al-Arian is in jail for contempt in connection with his failure to testify before a grand jury.
Mike just doesn't seem to get this whole democracy thing:
Gravel told FOX News that he doesn't want people to break the law and that he personally wouldn't do the things he's recommended - but that it could be an effective way to change the behavior of U.S. officials."How do you deal with this kind of an injustice? I wouldn't protest. I don't believe in protesting. I think it demonstrates the failure of representative government. My answer to that problem is, I want to empower you as a lawmaker. ... Don't rely on your elected officials," the former senator said.
Protesting "demonstrates a failure of representative government?" Stalin couldn't have said it better.
What's next Mike? Kidnapping the prosecutor's kids and holding them until he lets al-Arian out of jail?
