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American Spectator’s Outrageous ‘Sherrod Lynching Story False’ Article

by Tommy Christopher | 8:51 am, July 27th, 2010

» 24 comments

As if Shirley Sherrod hasn’t already suffered enough at the hands of the conservative blogosphere, the hits just keep coming. Last week, I brought you a preview of the right’s second bite at the apple, an emerging conspiracy smeary about Sherrod’s initial hiring by the USDA. Now, The American Spectator has accused Shirley Sherrod of lying about the lynching of a relative in order to glam up her personal history. I wish I was kidding.

As of this writing, the article is still on the front page at AmSpec, but links to the main article appear to be crashing due to traffic. There are actually five pages of this, so here are the links to cached versions: Page 1 – Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5

In fairness to AmSpec’s Jeffrey Lord, it should be noted that he very bravely apologizes to Sherrod for the last time he attacked her, before launching into his new one:

After Shirley Sherrod’s firing I wrote a column congratulating Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for removing her — based on a viewing of the now infamous edited Breitbart clip. I was wrong. I should have waited to see the entire video or read the transcript before writing a word. So my apologies to Ms. Sherrod.

Kum ba yah. This is the part where the needle on the record makes that movie-trailer scratching sound. Lord points to an anecdote from later in the full video of Sherrod’s stirring March 27 speech, in which she describes the killing of a relative by police:

I should tell you a little about Baker County. In case you don’t know where it is, it’s located less than 20 miles southwest of Albany. Now, there were two sheriffs from Baker County that — whose names you probably never heard but I know in the case of one, the thing he did many, many years ago still affect us today. And that sheriff was Claude Screws. Claude Screws lynched a black man. And this was at the beginning of the 40s. And the strange thing back then was an all-white federal jury convicted him not of murder but of depriving Bobby Hall — and I should say that Bobby Hall was a relative — depriving him of his civil rights.

Lord then deploys the smoking gun: court documents that describe, not a lynching, but a beating to death by police. Here’s what he points to as the exculpation of Sheriff Screws from the deed of lynching Bobby Hall:

The arrest was made late at night at Hall’s home on a warrant charging Hall with theft of a tire. Hall, a young negro about thirty years of age, was handcuffed and taken by car to the courthouse. As Hall alighted from the car at the courthouse square, the three petitioners began beating him with their fists and with a solid-bar blackjack about eight inches long and weighing two pounds. They claimed Hall had reached for a gun and had used insulting language as he alighted from the car. But after Hall, still handcuffed, had been knocked to the ground, they continued to beat him from fifteen to thirty minutes until he was unconscious. Hall was then dragged feet first through the courthouse yard into the jail and thrown upon the floor, dying. An ambulance was called, and Hall was removed to a hospital, where he died within the hour and without regaining consciousness. There was evidence that Screws held a grudge against Hall, and had threatened to “get” him.

As AJC’s Cynthia Tucker points out, the definition of “lynching” seems to encompass this activity:

It is certainly true that the widely perceived definition of “lynching” is to hang a person with a rope. Nevertheless, if this argument is really over semantics, here’s the definition of lynching, from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: “To execute without due process of law, especially to hang.”
That’s especially, but not exclusively.

So, really, Sheriff Screws was guilty of a lapse in lynching etiquette, I guess. Here’s my favorite part, though, as Lord begins to guess at why Shirley Sherrod would “lie” about this:

Did Ms. Sherrod deliberately concoct this story in search of a piece of that ugly romance to add “glamour” to a family story that is gut-wrenchingly horrendous already?

In case you’re wondering what Lord’s motivation is here, you don’t have to wait long. On page 3 (did I mention there are five pages of this?), he connects the vile dots. This is all in service to defending Andrew Breitbart, who Lord presumes is innocent of knowing what he published on his own website, and for which he refuses to apologize:

But much has been made of Andrew Breitbart‘s selectively edited tape — with all manner of people using this as an opportunity to question his credibility. There is no proof — none — that Breitbart deliberately edited this tape to fashion the image of Ms. Sherrod as a government racist. Say again, not a shred of evidence.

Lord spends the remaining several pages accusing Shirley Sherrod of carrying water for the Ku Klux Klan (seriously), but if you’re like me, you’ll be crying “Uncle” about halfway through page 1.

Look, I understand the reticence of (most, not all) conservatives to denounce Andrew Breitbart. He’s a blogosphere kingmaker, a traffic rainmaker second only to Matt Drudge. However, while I can’t say this for sure, I doubt Breitbart wants this kind of “help.”

Unfortunately for Lord, he doesn’t have that magical teflon coating, and if the conservative blogosphere has any decency, he and AmSpec will suffer a withering backlash.

As for Shirley Sherrod, after watching her remarkable life story on CNN’s Who is Shirley Sherrod? special, I suspect this entire affair rates pretty low on her list of tribulations. She’ll get through this just fine, but she shouldn’t have to.

Update: Media Matters reported yesterday that several American Spectator writers have denounced Lord’s article.

American Spectator, Andrew Breitbart, Bobby Hall, Cynthia Tucker, Jeffrey Lord, Matt Drudge, Sherrod Lynching Story False, Sherrod Story False, Shirley Sherrod

ChiliPeppersFan

well i believe he has laura ingram on his side…she was on oriely’s show last week and told parts of this story and then they just went back and forth attacking her…
just a damn shame
Some_Dude

This is the latest story the right has used to leverage black people as a frightening device to their base. Rest assured, they will milk it.

Somewhere, Karl Rove lets a wry smirk cross his face.
Bootleghaircut

Yeah there were a couple of miscreants on this site trying to push this BS
revisionist history and of course I ignored their bleating but it just goes
to show how much the right wing invests in lie when they have so much
egg on their face. The moral to that story is when a conservative makes
an error in judgment don’t expect them to fess up-expect a barrage of lies.
half truths, videos of more lies, and eventually they will just start saying
the whole incident never happened.

Haven’t we seen this same MO play out over and over again in the conservative
press?

This is why the event with the RNC Steele and Breitbart will go on as planned
these people will not acknowldge that Brietbart is in any way culpable and
they will continue to treat him with new demigod status.

Disgusting.
MichelleF

“We must stop the white man and uncle Tom’s from stealing our elections.”

Charles Sherrod, Shirley’s beloved husband.

Stop painting her as a victim Tommy.
http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

Ummm Michelle…..hate to burst your bubble, but Sherrod is the victim here. From Breitbart to Obama, they all hurried to condemn her without benefit of the facts. What is most astounding are the multiple attempts to further demonize this woman in defense of a false story.

We have had Congressman Steve King and his call to investigate the entire Pigford settlement and now this out of context quote from her husband. What next? Let this thing go already. Everyone got it wrong. Everyone. Deal with that reality and stop the self-righteous nonsense designed to prove that only one side had it wrong.

This is what is dreadfully wrong with American politics. Neither side can back down one inch to admit an error was made. You are still trying to defend this edited video and the false assault on this woman without admitting that the entire thing was ginned up to embarrass the equally stupid NAACP for their ridiculous attack on the Tea Party.

Sherrod is a victim. A victim of right wing media running with a false story and left wing politicians reacting to that false story and ending an honorable career. Leave it be and move onto something real.

Perhaps a little maturity would go a long way here in the form of dropping the repeated efforts to somehow paint a different picture.
MichelleF

Ummm Michelle…..hate to burst your bubble, but Sherrod is the victim here

Just because the left says it, doesn’t make it so. She clearly has racist feelings. Whether or not the left wants to admit it doesn’t really matter to me.
Bootleghaircut

“She clearly has racist feelings. Whether or not the left wants to admit it doesn’t really matter to me”

which is exactly why you have been calling her a racist for a week now. Because you don’t care so
much!!

BWHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH…conservatives get really stupid when their memes fall apart.
http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

And there are also racist signs at Tea Party rallies – even though they are not directly related. Even though the right refuses to admit it.

And you quoted her husband and not her. There is a difference.

What is happening here is just another symptom of the endless flaming spitballs of hate that both sides prefer over actual discourse. Better to just slam away than ever admit an error. Better to ramp up the errant rhetoric than actually confront an issue. Better a slanderous falsehood designed to prove a point than a debate ending truth.

Both sides, Michelle. The left does this as much as the right. And it is why America remains stuck in neutral. There is no civil discourse left. No attempt at real negotiation and compromise. No effort towards resolving anything. It is all about hate and anger and winning the next election.

So you know, I am No Party Affiliation and have been for some time. Both sides make me sick. Please continue your pointless bashing. I am sure someone somewhere enjoys it. The same applies to the liberals. Keep bashing away. Eventually you will drive enough people away that they finally vote both parties out of office.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Hogan/179500970 Stephen Hogan

Keeva said:
And you quoted her husband and not her. There is a difference.

Yes. Thank you.

Keeva said:
What is happening here is just another symptom of the endless flaming spitballs of hate that both sides prefer over actual discourse. Better to just slam away than ever admit an error. Better to ramp up the errant rhetoric than actually confront an issue. Better a slanderous falsehood designed to prove a point than a debate ending truth.

Thank you again.

Keeva said:
Both sides, Michelle. The left does this as much as the right. And it is why America remains stuck in neutral. There is no civil discourse left. No attempt at real negotiation and compromise. No effort towards resolving anything. It is all about hate and anger and winning the next election.

I absolutely share your concerns and observations!
Jackie_Treehorn

MichelleF said:
“We must stop the white man and uncle Tom’s from stealing our elections.”

Charles Sherrod, Shirley’s beloved husband.

Stop painting her as a victim Tommy.

Ha ha ha really? Can you be that dumb? Oh wait……
BatBoy

MichelleF said:
young negro about thirty years of age, was handcuffed and taken by car to the courthouse. As Hall alighted from the car at the courthouse square, the three petitioners began beating him with their fists and with a solid-bar blackjack about eight inches long and weighing two pounds. They claimed Hall had reached for a gun and had used insulting language as he alighted from the car. But after Hall, still handcuffed, had been knocked to the ground, they continued to beat him from fifteen to thirty minutes until he was unconscious. Hall was then dragged feet first through the courthouse yard into the jail and thrown upon the floor, dying. An ambulance was called,

Good point Michelle….reader must take ANYTHING Tommy writes with a roll of the eyes and a grain of salt,,,,lime and followed by a shot of Tequila. Make that TWO Shots for any of Tommy’s articles!
Iris

BathBoy and Michelle, you hateful Right Wing Deathers, The man was murdered and you ass wipes are cheering that you have a record that he wasn’t lynched just tortured and beaten to death, wow is that was does it for you? Oh w8 maybe what really does it for you is that you can take the description of how a daughters father died such a brutal death and beat the shit out of her with it, just like the asswipe publication that also knows no shame.
BatBoy

I love it Iris when you talk to me that way!
BatBoy

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Iris…is your real name Monica????
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Hogan/179500970 Stephen Hogan

Iris said:
The man was murdered and you ass wipes are cheering that you have a record that he wasn’t lynched just tortured and beaten to death,

Actually, the definition of ‘lynch’ encompasses all extra-judicial executions. Hanging is only a colloquial definition of the term.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Hogan/179500970 Stephen Hogan

MichelleF said:
Ummm Michelle…..hate to burst your bubble, but Sherrod is the victim here

Just because the left says it, doesn’t make it so. She clearly has racist feelings. Whether or not the left wants to admit it doesn’t really matter to me.

She is the victim here because she was unjustly fired. I haven’t seen her actually say or do anything that I would construe as racist. However, given to what happened to her father, I can understand why she would if she did. I’m not justifying it, but I can understand it.
Iris

Stephan , right, any one with a heart can understand it and any one who isn’t a complete hatemonger sees that she is a victim of these vicious murder loving Right Wingers
BatBoy

Iris said:
Stephan , right, any one with a heart can understand it and any one who isn’t a complete hatemonger sees that she is a victim of these vicious murder loving Right Wingers

Listen Monica…or Iris or what ever your name is….

Do not assume I think murder is OK…my wife’s brother was murdered, stabbed 32 times and tossed in an orange grove.

Here is the thing…just tell the story as it actually happened…don’t make it up to get sympathy. That is all I am saying. And no, I am not a Vicious murder loving Right Winger… and the only people I know are vicious are you lefties.
Iris

So did you take the report and beat teh shit out of your brother in law and scream hateful things at him, a victim of murder and constantly say he’s not a victim like you do with Shirley Sherrod. And of course you wouldn’t expect him to harbor ill feelings against the murderer the way you have demeaned Shirley Sherrod for that
ConcernedCitizen3

BatBoy said:
Here is the thing…just tell the story as it actually happened…don’t make it up to get sympathy

um, as far as legality goes, she DID tell the story correctly. Honestly if there is anything you want to take with a grain of salt it would be that “police report”. What you are arguing is basically, “Person A killed Person B”, “nooo Person B shot Person B 9 times, and he died as a result of his wounds, get the story straight!”. It’s complete nonsense on the part of anybody that would agree with this especially considering:

As AJC’s Cynthia Tucker points out, the definition of “lynching” seems to encompass this activity:

It is certainly true that the widely perceived definition of “lynching” is to hang a person with a rope. Nevertheless, if this argument is really over semantics, here’s the definition of lynching, from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: “To execute without due process of law, especially to hang.”
That’s especially, but not exclusively.

Boston Celtic’s Forward Kevin Garnett was charged with lynching while in high school, he didn’t hang anybody.
ChiliPeppersFan

concernedcitizen
um, as far as legality goes, she DID tell the story correctly. Honestly if there is anything you want to take with a grain of salt it would be that “police report”. What you are arguing is basically, “Person A killed Person B”, “nooo Person B shot Person B 9 times, and he died as a result of his wounds, get the story straight!”. It’s complete nonsense on the part of anybody that would agree with this especially considering:

i think you also have to take into account the what was going on at the time (outright racism) and who it was that filed the police report…possibly a white southern police officer?
ConcernedCitizen3

very true… I won’t jump to conclusions at the risk of being called a “racist” or whatever, but things were very different then. It’s interesting to me that by the headline on here you would think the story was completely false, as in never happened. But instead an attack on semantics or what, in one person’s opinion, is or is not a lynching. The fact is that this man was viciously beaten, while handcuffed, in front of the courthouse, and no one went to jail for it. Nothing even happened. But Shirley Sherrod is drumming up this story to make her sad story even more sad? I happen to know a great deal of elderly African Americans that have tons of ridiculous stories like these. They are, in fact, lynchings by a dictionary definition. Anybody who would side with Lord on this subject is, at the very least, misinformed.
BatBoy

ConcernedCitizen3 says: very true… I won’t jump to conclusions at the risk of being called a “racist”

No Concerned…I don’t believe you are the “Racists” here….

The “Racist” here is Monica or Iris or what ever his/her name is. From here on out this person shall be refered to as “IT!”

“IT” is also a hate monger…do you read those posts….

Wow…this is kind of fun…calling someone like “IT” a “Racist” and a “Hate Monger!” I can see why the lefties do that …it is easy!
Jelperman

I’m not surprised that right-wingers think lynching isn’t really lynching. They also think torture isn’t really torture.

Compared to the typical right-winger, Whoopi Goldberg (“Polanski didn’t commit rape-rape”) doesn’t look nearly as revolting.