I've been trying to figure out how to recap what I heard from Marsha Rovai on Saturday - the 69 year old woman that was pushed around by DeLay protesters at the Lampson press conference a couple of weeks ago - and thank goodness Bob Dunn of Fort Bend Now has the details. I was at a Fort Bend Democrats club meeting and Marsha gave us the scoop. Marsha is pretty irritated because the Sugar Land cops did NOT take her seriously and would not let her file a complaint. By the way, Tony Crabs is AWESOME. Way to step up to the plate!
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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.”
http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/1012/democrats-call-for-grand-jury-foreman-to-step-down-over-lampson-press-conference-behavior
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