MISSISSIPPI: Two KKK Members Charged With Gun Possession on Ole Miss Campus
OXFORD, Miss. – Two Ku Klux Klan members face federal weapons charges after police say they had guns in a truck parked at the University of Mississippi.
In a October 16, 2015 photo, the Mississippi state flag and U.S. flag fly in the Circle on campus at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. The state flag was removed Monday, Oct, 26, 2015, days after the student senate, the faculty senate and other groups adopted a student-led resolution calling for removal of the banner from campus. (Bruce Newman/Oxford Eagle via AP)
University police Thursday arrested Kyler Campbell and Virgil Dennison. An FBI agent says in federal court records that the men are Klan members.
Campbell and Dennison – who are not students – protested as the faculty senate adopted a resolution asking university administrators to remove the state flag because it has the Confederate battle emblem.
U.S. attorney’s office spokesman Chad Lamar says the men are charged with possessing a firearm in a school zone.
Campbell remained jailed Monday. It was unknown whether he has an attorney.
Dennison was released on house arrest and must undergo a mental evaluation. His public defender didn’t immediately return a call.
–wiat.com
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LOUISIANA: $20M French Quarter Project Turns Civil War Widows Home to High End Housing
Demolitions are rare in the historic French Quarter, so much so that one property owner who tore down a carriage house without city permission was slapped with a $6,000 fine.
Another recent razing, a two-story institutional building in the 1200 block of Dauphine Street, is also drawing attention. It, however, was done through the proper channels and is part of a $20 million residential complex, with 10 homes that will be priced between $1.2 million and $3.5 million.
Developer Brent Lemoine talks about the work in progress as the former Maison Hospitaliere on Barracks Street in the French Quarter is being renovated into several dwellings. Photographed on Thursday, October 29, 2015. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The building and others that remain were once part of Maison Hospitaliere, a retirement community that covered a sizable portion of the block from Dauphine to Bourbon Street.
The small campus of dormitory-style buildings reaches to Barracks Street and at one time included adjoining street-side homes.
The organization that started the facility, La Socíeté Hospitaliere des Dames Louisianaises, dates to the Reconstruction period when it provided homes for elderly Civil War widows who had no other means of support. Maison Hospitaliere grew to serve nearly 100 residents, encompassing 13 buildings that were turned into a full-service nursing home for men and women that operated until Hurricane Katrina.
The society closed the facility in November 2006, and the Lauricella Land Co. subsequently acquired the property — one of the largest real estate transactions in French Quarter history at $4.2 million. Lauricella redeveloped and sold residences facing Bourbon Street, and developers Dean Lacy and Brent Lemoine bought the remaining nursing home buildings this past April for $3.5 million.
The partners initiallly wanted to restore the building at 1220 Dauphine St. as part of their development, Maison du Parc, but their designs failed to gain support from the Vieux Carré Commission, a city panel that oversees development in the neighborhood.
Instead, they received permission to demolish the 1950s structure, which had no historical significance. It will be replaced with a trio of two-story freestanding homes, which Lemoine said architect Matt Vogel designed to be more in tune with the neighborhood.
The developers also were allowed to take down sheds and other additions to the property made over the years to modernize the facility. A kitchen structure was removed to make room for a pool. Still standing are an original 1830s building on Barracks Street, two “service wings” around the same age and a 1960s era building that local architects Koch & Wilson designed to fit in with the existing structures.
A total of 10 units are planned for the site, which includes off-street parking. In addition to the three new houses, the service wings will be turned into separate residences, and the main three-story structure on Barracks will be divided into two residences. Three townhouses will go into the Koch & Wilson building.
Members of the La Socíeté Hospitaliere des Dames Louisianaises were allowed to come back to the facility before work crews began demolition and renovations, and Lemoine said they removed plaques and what few mementos remained. Workers with Landis Construction salvaged a stain glass window from the Dauphine Street building, which will be donated to a local beneficiary along with a courtyard statue of the Virgin Mary.
The removal of wallboard inside the Barracks building revealed the original lumber used to frame the structure.
“It’s amazing when you realize that every piece of wood inside that building was shaped by hand. You can see the original square nails. It’s still sturdy today,” Lemoine said.
Living areas will range from 1,500 to 4,000 square feet, and the homes are expected to hit the market by late next year or early 2017.
Million-dollar home sales are common to the French Quarter, but seldom have 10 listings landed on the market at once — let alone a predominance of new construction. Lemoine is counting on the neighborhood’s popularity, along with its location on the “quiet end” of Bourbon Street, to drum up lots of interest.
“We’re confident the market is there,” he said, “whether it’s people who are going to make this their permanent home or a second residence.”
–nola.com
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MISSISSIPPI: Tupelo Man Explodes Bomb at WalMart Over Anger at Chain Not Selling Confederate Merchandise
TUPELO, MS (WTVA) — A Mississippi man, who was angry at Walmart for not selling Confederate flag merchandise, is now accused of throwing a bomb at the store in Tupelo.
Marshall Leonard
Police say 61-year-old Marshall Leonard of Saltillo tossed an explosive device in the front foyer of the Walmart Supercenter on North Gloster Street around 1:30, Sunday morning.
Tupelo Police Cheif Bart Aguirre says Leonard attempted to detonate the homemade explosive at two other businesses.
Investigators say he pulled up to the store, lit the device, yelled at an employee, and tossed it into the store.
The device blew up, but there were no injuries.
Leonard is a supporter of the Confederate and Mississippi State Flags, and has encouraged people to boycott Walmart after they decided to stop selling Confederate emblem merchandise.
Investigators believe his boycott may have played a part in why he tossed the device into the store.
The remains of the device have been sent to a crime lab to determine exactly what was inside.
Leonard is charged with felony charges of planting or placing an explosive or weapon of mass destruction.
The state charge carries a maximum life in prison.
The FBI and ATF have also been contacted.
Leonard’s car has been impounded and police are searching the vehicle today looking for evidence.
Aguirre says Leonard has a criminal history including arrests in Illinois and Wisconsin.
He will remain the Lee County Adult Detention Center until he makes an initial appearance in court on Tuesday.
–fo10tv.com
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VIRGINIA: Local Confederate Heritage Group Denies Ties to KKK
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – Two local Confederate heritage groups are speaking out after alleged hackers claim the groups are part of the Klu Klux Klan. The Virginia Flaggers and the Sons of Confederate Veterans say that’s simply not true.
The hackers posted personal information to the website PasteBin, including email addresses, home addresses, children’s names, phone numbers, car make, model, and VIN numbers. The list was posted in July and the subject line is “KKK.”
“Obviously they are cowards and they’re going to hide themselves and their identities,” Dexter Oliver with the Sons of the Confederate Veterans said. Oliver said he has already received several phone calls. “We don’t have any association with the Klu Klux Klan. The Sons of the Confederate Veterans does not.”
“We have always come out and denounced the Klu Klux Klan and any other hate group,” Barry Isenhour with Virginia Flaggers said. “Particularly hate groups that cause strife and stuff among the populace.”
NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin said the actions could potentially be illegal. “If any trespass, any unauthorized entry into another person’s computer or their server, that could be computer trespassing,” he said.
The list came to light on Monday because a separate hacking group “Anonymous” is threatening to release the personal information of “actual” KKK members on the same website. However, their social media accounts warn there are other lists already out there not associated with “Anonymous.”
“Anonymous” made claims that the mayor of Norfolk, Paul Fraim has ties to the KKK.
Fraim issued a statement:
The claim by “Anonymous” that I am in anyway affiliated or related to the KKK is absolutely false and defamatory. There is no truth to their statement whatsoever. I am not and have never been affiliated with any such organization. I find it incredulous that
these people can hide behind their computers and create such an inaccurate and hateful statement.
–raycomgroup.com
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