Disturbing new video footage from a New York City fundraiser for Deborah Ross has surfaced today during which Benjamin Barber, a top Democratic donor, is caught making racially charged comments about African Americans stating they are *”seriously f**ed in the head.”
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1L1gNUPbTw“]
Transcript: “Have you heard of the Sonderkommandos? Jewish guards who helped murder Jews in the camps. So there were even Jews that were helping the Nazis murder Jews! So blacks who are helping the other side are seriously f***ed in the head. They’re only helping the enemy who will destroy them. Maybe they think ‘if I help them we’ll get along okay; somehow I’ll save my race by working with the murderers.’”
But this isn’t the first time Deborah Ross has been at odds with African American voters.
In a story from The Morning Consult it was reported that Deborah Ross sided with the Ku Klux Klan during her radical tenure at the North Carolina ACLU.
From The Morning Consult:
So far, Burr and his allies have not spent money on a message that they hope lure African Americans voters to his camp. In 1997, her work for the ACLU sided her with Ku Klux Klan members hoping to demonstrate in Asheville. She also defended the Sons of Confederate Veterans as it sought a license plate from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles emblazoned with a Confederate emblem. In 2000, she supported students who were sent home for wearing shirts featuring the Confederate flag.
During a debate with Burr last week, Ross said she had “experience working on racial bias issues,” adding that she “worked on one of the comprehensive anti-racial profiling laws in the country.”
Here’s the case The Morning Consult is referencing:
In 1998, Asheville business owner Tiffany Livengood sued the leader of the Ku Klux Klan to stop the Klan from marching through the city even though the KKK suggested that there would be violence against anti-Klan protestors. Ross said Livengood didn’t have the standing to win her lawsuit and defended the Klan’s right to use public facilities in order to express their point of view.
- In 1998, Asheville Business Owner Tiffany Livengood Sued The Leader Of The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) To Keep The Klan From Marching In Asheville. “An Asheville woman is suing a leader of the Ku Klux Klan to keep the Klan from marching in Asheville later this year. Tiffany Livengood, who runs a business in Asheville, is suing Davidson County resident Robert Moore and the city of Asheville. Moore, the organizer of the rally, is the Exalted Cyclops of the Davidson County chapter of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Livengood’s suit seeks to ban a Klan rally scheduled for May.” (Andrea Ball, “Lawsuit Seeks To Stop Rally By Ku Klux Klan,” Greensboro News & Record, 1/14/98)
- The KKK Leader Organizing The March Made A Threat In An Asheville Newspaper Promising To Turn Asheville Into “Another Greensboro” – A Reference To When Five Anti-Klan Protesters Were Shot And Killed. “Tiffany Livengood, who runs a business in Asheville, is suing Davidson County resident Robert Moore and the city of Asheville. Moore, organizer of the rally, is Exalted Cyclops of the Davidson County chapter of American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Livengood’s suit seeks to ban a Klan rally scheduled for May. Livengood could not be reached for comment. Moore says he’ll fight the suit. … An Asheville newspaper article quoted Moore as saying that he would turn the city into ‘another Greensboro,’ referring to a 1979 incident in which five anti-Klan protesters were shot and killed when Klan members and neo-Nazis crashed a rally.” (Andrea Ball, “Lawsuit Seeks To Stop Rally By Ku Klux Klan,” Greensboro News & Record, 1/14/98)
- Livengood’s Lawsuit Cited “The Inability Of The Local Police Department To Contain The Violence From The Last Ralleys (sic) Coupled With The Threats From Mr. Moore And The Klan To Use Deadly Force On The Onlookers.” “‘The inability of the local police department to contain the violence from the last ralleys (sic) coupled with the threats from Mr. Moore and the Klan to use deadly force on the onlookers would be in violation of Plaintiff’s civil rights to enjoy the freedom of living peaceably and would be a compelling state interest to stop bloodshed on the streets of Asheville,’ the suit reads.” (Andrea Ball, “Lawsuit Seeks To Stop Rally By Ku Klux Klan,” Greensboro News & Record, 1/14/98)
- Ross Said It Didn’t Appear Livengood Had Concrete Evidence The Klan March Specifically Threatened Or Posed A Danger To Her. “Deborah Ross of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that Livengood would have to show concrete evidence that the Klan specifically threatened or posed a danger to her. Livengood does not appear to have such evidence, Ross said.” (Andrea Ball, “Lawsuit Seeks To Stop Rally By Ku Klux Klan,” Greensboro News & Record, 1/14/98)
- Ross Said “A Vague Threat Cannot Be Used To Deny A Group Its Right To Use Public Facilities To Express A Point Of View.” “Specific threats are in a category of speech that is not protected by the First Amendment, said Deborah Ross, legal director of the N.C. affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. But it depends on how direct the threat is. A vague threat cannot be used to deny a group its right to use public facilities to express a point of view, she said. After hearing a description of Moore’s comments, Ross said she couldn’t determine if the threat was direct enough to merit the city refusing to issue a permit.” (“Asheville Seeks Ways To Limit Klan Rallies,” The Associated Press, 12/27/97)
- Ross: “It Has To Be A True Threat Of Violence, Not Some Kind Of Undifferentiated Fear.” “‘It has to be a true threat of violence, not some kind of undifferentiated fear,’ she said. ‘All of our constitutional rights can be limited by the government in certain circumstances. First Amendment expression in a public forum can be limited based on a compelling state interest if the restriction is narrowly tailored to deal with that compelling state interest. ‘For example, if the KKK says there have been bad things that happened before when we marched and bad things might happen again, that’s a vague statement, not a direct threat of violence, so there wouldn’t be any narrowly tailored way to deal with that.’” (“Asheville Seeks Ways To Limit Klan Rallies,” The Associated Press, 12/27/97)