Huh? U.S. sues black activist on voting act violation

Lawsuit marks first time 1965 law used to allege racial bias against whites
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:48 p.m. ET May 2, 2006

MACON, Miss. - Ike Brown is a legend in Mississippi politics, a fast-talking operative both loved and hated for his ability to turn out black voters and get his candidates into office.

That success has also landed him at the heart of a federal lawsuit that’s about to turn the Voting Rights Act on its head.

For the first time, the Justice Department is using the 1965 law to allege racial discrimination against whites.

Brown, head of the Democratic Party in Mississippi’s rural Noxubee County, is accused of waging a campaign to defeat white voters and candidates with tactics including intimidation and coercion. Also named in the lawsuit is Circuit Clerk Carl Mickens, who has agreed to refrain from rejecting white voters’ absentee ballots considered defective while accepting similar ballots from black voters.

Brown shakes off the allegations.

“They’ve been trying to target me for years, the attorney general and all them, because we’re so successful,” the 52-year-old says. “Hey, if you’re a failure, nobody will mess with you. But we’re successful in east Mississippi.”

The Justice Department complaint says Brown and those working with him “participated in numerous racial appeals during primary and general campaigns and have criticized black citizens for supporting white candidates and for forming biracial political coalitions with white candidates.”

Read the rest at MSNBC