Remember Marsha Rovai? Who was assaulted by DeLay protesters?
Marsha Rovai is the 69-year old CPS case worker who was assaulted by two Republican men at a Nick Lampson press conference two weeks ago. I heard an update from Marsha at a Fort Bend Democrats meeting on Saturday. Bob Dunn of Fort Bend Now provides details, also. The Sugar Land Police Department is refusing to accept the assault charges that Marsha attempted to file against one of the men, Ken Dexter, Fort Bend County grand jury foreman. Excerpts from Bob's article:
The president of a Democratic political club has asked 240th District Judge Thomas Culver III to remove the sitting Fort Bend County grand jury foreman because of his behavior during a Nick Lampson press conference on April 6.
“The Fort Bend Democrats’ charges are grossly inaccurate, vast exaggerations, and outright untrue – which is typical,” Dexter said Tuesday. “Video and photographs clearly show I peacefully protested Mr. Lampson and talked to him about his voting record… Exercising free speech and opposing Democrats on their voting record is not against the law.
A few minutes after Lampson began his press conference, about 30 DeLay supporters surrounded Lampson, chanting and shouting. There was some jostling and angry words exchanged between supporters of both candidates.
In his letter to Culver, Crabs accused Dexter of striking a 69-year-old woman on the wrist, “yelling in the ears of young children and a 10-month-old baby while attempting to drown out Mr. Lampson,” in violation of a state law prohibiting disruption of a meeting.
The 69-year-old woman Crabs mentioned is retired Texas Child Protective Services employee Martha Rovai of Richmond. Rovai said on Tuesday that she attempted to file an assault charge against Dexter with the Sugar Land Police Department on Friday, but police would not allow her to do so.
Rovai said Dexter was pushing her at the press conference, so she tugged on his shirt to get him to stop and he struck her on the wrist. A Sugar Land police officer told her “well, you pulled his shirt first, so you instigated it, so you can’t file charges against him.”
Not only did he not hit Rovai, Dexter said, photographs and video by two news stations “clearly show the former Democrat Party Chairman, Don Bankston, striking me with his fist in the back of my head.”
Bankston, a member of the Fort Bend Democrats, said Tuesday he didn’t hit Dexter in his head but “may have hit the back of his shoulder to get him away from Martha Rovai after he struck her.”
Crabs said the Fort Bend Democrats met Saturday and discussed the Lampson press conference, and decided the appropriate course of action was sending Culver a letter.
“We’re not going to back down from intimidation,” Crabs said. “There’s free speech, but when it gets to the point of intimidation and getting in your face…that crosses the line.”
Ken Dexter is in the white t-shirt to the left of Nick Lampson in the photo below:
Video of Marsha's assault (not Ken Dexter touching her)
Way to step up to the plate, Tony Crabs (president, Fort Bend County Democrats)!
Juanita discusses this whole sorry mess and reminds us that in heavily Republican Fort Bend County, home of Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, friend of Tom DeLay, what else can we expect from the Sugar Land Police Department?
She suggests that we all - nicely, of course - let the Sugar Land Police Department and the City of Sugar Land know that we think our citizens have the right to assemble safely in our Town Square.
2 comments:
The inexcusable attack and other rudeness of the GOPers at the Lampson press conference might never have happened if history had turned out differently in 2000.
Here's the story. The other day, Evan Smith, editor of Texas Monthly, and the 22nd District's own Paul Begala, well-known Democratic Party strategist, had a conversation together on public television. Begala revealed for the first time publicly that he seriously considered running against Tom DeLay in 2000 because he just couldn't stand him. He got so far as to devise his first negative ad. Knowing that DeLay does not speak to his mother, Begala was planning to say, "Make me your congressman and I'll call Mrs. DeLay every Sunday, AND I won't let those Republicans cut her Social Security the way Tom DeLay wants to." Paul decided against making the race. He probably could not have won, but if he had, what a difference it would have made for District 22, for Texas, and for the entire nation.
I had no idea Begala was from TX-22! Cool! Also, this is the second time I've heard in the past week about DeLay not speaking to his mother. And, I had never heard that story before. You learn something new everyday about that most righteous of men.
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