Only black woman in Vermont statehouse quit after harassment by white nationalist -- who showed up to

[Judi Lynn]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Raw Story

Only black woman in Vermont statehouse quit after harassment by white nationalist — who showed up to ‘troll’ her press conference
MARTIN CIZMAR
26 JAN 2019 AT 22:01 ET

Vermont has lost its only black female state legislator after she quit following two years of harassment by a white nationalist, reports the Daily Beast.

But the man who admitted to “trolling” her wasn’t done yet.

Ruqaiyah “Kiah” Morris was a state representative until September 2018, when she quit because of racist threats from self-proclaimed white nationalist Max Misch.

Misch lives in Morris’ former district and has claimed that her race prevented her from properly representing the white community.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2019/01/black-woman-vermont-statehouse-quit-harassment-white-nationalist-showed-troll-press-conference/

---

Max Misch







All muscled up with no where to go. All he can do is harass people to get attention. What else is he going to do, find a cure for cancer?

[George II]

1. Another case of "roid rage"?

[Haggis for Breakfast]

3. No, he's just another racist scumfuck.

This pig threatened her, her husband and their son. He sent her hundreds of ugly text, e-mails, and death threats. He stalked her. He defaced her home and vandalized her yard. He threatened her while her child was with her when they were walking in a nearby park. He became so bold that she felt she had no course of action but to quit her job and back out of re-election.

Law enforcement did NOTHING to help her or protect her.

What happened to Kiah Morris should disgust and outrage everyone.

NO one in VT stood up to this. And that includes Bernie Sanders.

[iluvtennis]

7. Just disgusting he was allowed to terrorize her/her family w/no consequences.

[Ligyron]

2. She shouldn't quit, that just encourages them.

I know it's a pita and scary for her and her family, and who am I to judge her situation but the police and the legal system need to weigh in on this and be involved.

Guess I need to go read the story before opening my mouth.

[Power 2 the People]

4. +1

[RandySF]

6. Easier said than done when you're the target.

[rampartc]

26. +1

[RandySF]

5. Just another victim of economic anxiety

If only we reach out of our bubble to win his support

[vercetti2021]

8. This man clearly screams SDD

Small dick disorder.

[The Truth Is Here]

15. Yup, proven by his daily dose of 'roids.

[defacto7]

9. Sue his ass is what I say. Looks like there's plenty of evidence.

[ancianita]

13. His accumulated "free speech" can present a pattern of harassment. Where was her legal

support. Does Vermont have no lawyers? Can't they make a case for a cease and desist order?

Where was the support of statehouse colleagues? wtf

Compared to male leaders, women leaders have a bigger history of implied threat.

[rownesheck]

27. I replied earlier

to another post that our stupid amendments need limits. This type of shit is what I'm referring to. This raisin nutted fuck needs life in prison, in solitary. These people are nazis and should be dealt with as such. They don't deserve "free speech". We aren't stupid. We know what he's doing and will continue to do.

[SunSeeker]

10. Has Bernie spoken out about this racist outrage in Vermont? nt

[progree]

11. From Huffington Post

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kiah-morris-vermont-black-lawmaker-resigns_us_5bac5c60e4b082030e78214f

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement last month that he was “shocked and saddened” to learn about Morris’ decision to leave the state legislature.

“Kiah has been an excellent representative for the people of Bennington on so many issues, and has been a strong voice for equity and social justice in the Statehouse,” Sanders told the Burlington Free Press.

“In the state of Vermont, no elected official, candidate or person should be fearful of their safety because of the color of their skin or their point of view,” he continued. “This corrosion of political discourse is destructive to our democracy, and we cannot let it take hold.”

Found that in a 10 second Google search, BTW.

[SunSeeker]

18. That was from last August, not in response to this incident.

And even back then, Bernie's short 2-paragraph statement only came after the Burlington Free Press ASKED him for a response. https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/31/vt-insights-kiah-morris-departure-over-racist-threats-causes-concern/1142692002/

And that August statement could have been stronger. He could have called it what it is, racism, not just a "corrosion of political discourse." This was not political discourse. This guy was engaging in hate speech and terrorist threats. And he didn't even call out the guy, self-proclaimed white nationalist Max Misch. 

That's hardly denouncing Misch's crimes. It borders on "both sides do it" nebulism by calling it political discourse instead of a hate crime.

[Maggiemayhem]

28. This story is confusing..What am I missing?

The story states she quit in September 2018,so why is it just coming to light? Something doesn’t smell right.

[DRoseDARs]

29. "Morris ... last week, held a press conference to discuss it."

"Morris did not get into detail about the harassment when she quit but, last week, held a press conference to discuss it."

Despite some people trying to make hay of this, statements were made at the time when she quit based on what she had publicly discussed. We are only now publicly hearing greater detail of the harassment she was actually enduring that led to her departure and subsequent investigations by authorities. She's discussing it now because the police are apparently worthless and haven't done a fucking thing about this Nazi.



As for the cheap shots:
How dare Bernie not know things Morris did not publicly disclose 2 years ago! He should have barged in on her home and confronted her, demanding details she wasn't willing to make public at the time! He should have hounded the police conducting the investigation he knew nothing about, commanding them to keep him informed every step of the way! Clearly he has a problem with black people if he's unable or unwilling to make what they choose to be their private business his very public business...

[marble falls]

33. This has been posted about for weeks here.

[David__77]

19. Vermont progressives joint statement.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/delegation-statement-on-kiah-morris

[roody]

12. Why is this criminal not in jail?

[SunSeeker]

23. Good question for the VT AG and local law enforcement. nt

[The Truth Is Here]

14. Someone needs to bust him for 'roids.

[rockfordfile]

16. Where's the Democratic Party on this?

Some un-American racist loser shows up and nothing has been done about the pos. Lock him up.

[SunSeeker]

21. The DNC is not a law enforcement agency. The DOJ should be investigating this hate crime.

Alas, Trump's DOJ is not really pursuing hate crimes against people of color. They seem more interested in helping bigots discriminate against gay people by claiming they are protecting freedom of religion.

The VT AG is looking into it, but does not appear to be doing much. The local law enforcement has done nothing, which is an outrage.

[PSPS]

17. There are no laws in Vermont to deal with this?

[SunSeeker]

20. The VT AG is apparently investigating, but the police appear to have done little.

Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced on Aug. 27. his office was investigating reports of threats against Morris.

In a statement, Donovan wrote: "The Attorney General today opened an active, ongoing investigation into complaints of online threats made against State Representative Kiah Morris. The Attorney General’s Office will work with the Vermont State Police and appropriate computer forensic experts to ensure a thorough and complete investigation of this matter."

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/31/vt-insights-kiah-morris-departure-over-racist-threats-causes-concern/1142692002/

Kiah Morris has complained about local law enforcement's failure to pursue the matter or ensure her safety and security.

[msongs]

22. sad to see this guy plastered all over DU nt

[Judi Lynn]

24. It's better that no one is able to recognize this sadistic sociopath? Really? n/t

[marble falls]

32. Yet again.

[McCamy Taylor]

25. Hint. Find out where he gets his drugs. Testosterone is C 2 and

It is likely he is buying it illegally.

[Squinch]

30. Vermont doesn't seem like a welcoming place for non-white people.

[raccoon]

31. Shows that such racists are not just below the Mason-Dixon line

Too bad this was not stopped earlier!

[oldsoftie]

34. NO! DONT quit. Thats how they win. nt

[sl8]

35. This is a Raw Story "homage" to a Daily Beast opinion piece of an event reported on 12 days ago

From the Daily Beast:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-white-supremacist-hounded-a-black-lawmaker-out-of-office
A White Supremacist Hounded a Black Lawmaker Out of Office

Seven Days' article from January 14:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/01/14/white-nationalist-crashes-press-conference-on-racial-harassment-of-kiah-morris
White Nationalist Crashes Press Conference on Racial Harassment of Kiah Morris

I assume the press conference was in reponse to the release of the Vermont Attornery General's findings.

Bennington Banner's article about Vermont AG's report:
https://www.benningtonbanner.com/stories/ag-racial-harassment-but-no-laws-broken,561604
Vermont AG: Kiah Morris suffered racial harassment, but no laws broken

Information on investigation and report from Vermont Attorney General site:
https://ago.vermont.gov/blog/2019/01/14/attorney-general-releases-findings-of-investigation-of-reported-crimes-committed-against-former-vermont-state-representative-kiah-morris-and-her-family/

VT AG findings (PDF):
https://ago.vermont.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Morris-Investigation-and-Legal-Findings.pdf

[icymist]

38. There are some interesting little tid bits in the VT AG findings (PDF), thanks!

Putting this here for future reference:

No Vermont court has specifically considered whether communications like those sent to
Ms. Morris could be construed as “true threats.” However, cases from other jurisdictions are
helpful in understanding the application of the true threats doctrine to communications containing
offensive and even threatening language. For example, in State v. Locke, 307 P.3d 771 (Wash.
2013), the court considered emails containing threats that had been made against Christine
Gregoire, who at the time was governor of Washington. In one email to the governor, the defendant
identified the city in which he resided as “Gregoiremustdie” and said he wanted her to witness a
family member being “raped and murdered by a sexual predator.” Id. at 774. In another email, sent
a few minutes later, the defendant said, “You should be burned at the stake like any heretic.” Id.
The court concluded that these emails did not contain “true threats.” Id. Regarding the first email,
the court explained that “[a]though crude and upsetting, this is more in the nature of hyperbolic
political speech, predicting threatening consequences from the State’s policies.” Id. at 777.
Regarding the second email, the court noted that “the passive and impersonal phrasing of this sort
of statement would at best reach only the margins of a true threat; viewed in isolation, we cannot
deem it unprotected speech.” Id.

In U.S. v. Bagdasarian, 652 F.3d 1113, 1115 (9th Cir. 2011), the defendant was convicted
of two counts of threatening to kill and inflict harm upon a major candidate for the office of
president of the United States, after he posted to an online public message board the following
messages: “Re: Obama fk the niggar, he will have a 50 cal in the head soon,” and “shoot the nig
country fkd for another 4 years+, what nig has done ANYTHING RIGHT? ? ? ? long term? ? ? ?
never in history, except sambos.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the
defendant’s conviction on that basis that these messages did not constitute a “true threat” because
the “evidence [was] not sufficient to support a conclusion that a reasonable person who read the
postings within or without the relevant context would have understood either to mean that [the
defendant] threatened to injure or kill the Presidential candidate.” Id. at 1119

I find it interesting that these are considered non threatening free speech.

[onetexan]

36. all that muscle and none between the ears

what a waste of a human being

[Izzy Blue]

37. "Lack of charges in Kiah Morris case sparks questions"

VtDigger

Local coverage and comments.

https://vtdigger.org/2019/01/25/lack-charges-kiah-morris-case-sparks-questions/

[DonViejo]

39. Locking...

This is a worthy feature/analysis piece, but not LBN. The resignation occurred a few weeks ago, the trolling of her press conference also was a few weeks ago, as reported here: https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100211680845