The Latest Jena News, "Black Panthers say they are going to patrol Jena, LA."
Members of the New Black Panther Party plan to patrol the streets of Jena to protect the "Jena Six" and their families following threats by white supremacists.
But local law enforcement officials said they have not seen any party members on patrol.
In an announcement on its Web site, the party claims that Jena police and the LaSalle Parish Sheriff's Office "announced that they would not provide protection for the families of the Jena 6 under threat."
LaSalle Parish Sheriff Carl Smith said Wednesday that is not true.
He said his department has additional officers on duty and is receiving assistance from federal officers and the Louisiana State Police.
Also on Wednesday, LaSalle Parish School Superintendent Roy Breithaupt held a press conference to clarify information circulating about the Jena Six case.
In August 2006, when nooses were hung from a tree at Jena High School, then-Principal Scott Windham called for an expulsion committee to investigate, Breithaupt said.
The investigation showed that the three students involved had no history of behavior problems and had never "demonstrated an inclination toward violence or to do physical harm to anyone," no physical injury resulted, and no violent act was intended when the nooses were hung, Breithaupt said in a press release.
"In deciding the consequences for the students' behavior, the committee determined that expulsion was not appropriate," he said in the release.
The boys involved were sent to alternative school for nine days, served a two-week, in-school suspension, had Saturday detentions, had to attend Discipline Court, were referred to Families in Need of Services and had an evaluation before returning to school as part of the district's Crises Management Policy Procedures.
In the December 2006 incident in which Jena High School student Justin Barker was attacked at school, allegedly by the Jena Six defendants, it was not a "schoolyard fight," Breithaupt said.
"It was a premeditated ambush and attack by six students against one," the superintendent said in a press release. "The victim attacked was beaten and kicked into a state of bloody unconsciousness."
An expulsion committee investigated the attack, and expulsion was recommended. Four students appealed the decision. The expulsions were upheld by the LaSalle Parish School Board after a hearing.
Breithaupt said the expelled students were told they could continue their education in an alternative setting.
"I continue to firmly stand behind the actions of the LaSalle Parish school system in regard to these incidents," Breithaupt said.
Threats made against all parties in the Jena Six case remain under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, state and local officials.
Tina Jones, mother of Jena Six member Bryant Purvis, said Wednesday that she had received several threatening telephone calls since information about her was posted on the Internet. The personal information of the Jena Six families was placed on a white supremacist Web site.
"One called the house and said he was KKK and said he was on the way to Jena to come for my son," Jones said.
Jones said other Jena Six family members had also received threatening calls and letters, which have been given to the FBI.
A meeting between Jena Six family members and about seven representatives from the New Black Panther Party took place Sunday in Jena to discuss protection, Jones said. Exactly how the New Black Panthers would provide protection wasn't discussed, she said.
"They just said they would assist with protecting the families," she said.
Catrina Wallace, local NAACP member and relative of one of the Jena Six defendants, said she arranged Sunday's meeting.
In a press release posted on the party's site, Malik Shabazz, leader of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, said members would begin this week to patrol the streets of Jena to protect not only the Jena Six families but all black residents "against open and imminent threats from Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacists advocating violence."
The party is forming a committee called The Security and Protection Committee of the Jena 6 that would involve organizations and volunteers from across the nation.
Among the organizations noted to be a part of the committee were the Millions More Movement and the Black Muslims in addition to the New Black Panther Party. "The coalition will coordinate and lead an all-volunteer effort that will man shifts and provide personal security for the Jena Six families as well as local residents under the threat of Klan intimidation in the wake of the successful September 20th mass demonstration in Jena and around the U.S.," the release states.
The release says security will be provided for the upcoming months.
"This threat is real," the release states. "The September 20th demonstration, which we aided in organizing, has created a resentment and backlash in certain quarters of Jena's white community. In the spirit of the Deacons of Defense, we intend to exercise our full range of legal rights of defense and protection to ensure that this very real threat of violence is neutralized."
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