On June 5, 2014, a Benton Harbor court found it had enough evidence to call for a jury trial of Black Autonomy Network of Community Organization's President Rev. Edward Pinkney. Charged with election fraud, Rev Pinkney, a community activist and outspoken critic of Whirlpool, Governor Snyder, Mayor Hightower and Emergency Managers, strongly denies the allegation! Read the full story for yourself as reported by Voice of Detroit.
Rev. Pinkey In the 'Mouth of the Beast' In Benton Harbor
Courtesy of Voice of Detroit
Rev. Pinkney’s supporters outside Berrien County Courthouse May 31, 2014. His wife Dorothy Pinkney is fourth from left.
Supporters turn out for preliminary exam on 5 felony counts May 31
“Can’t pin it on Pinkney”—Herald Palladium
MSP documents examiner can’t say who altered recall petitions
By Diane Bukowski
June 1, 2014
BENTON HARBOR –Supporters of Rev. Edward Pinkney packed the courtroom for his day-long pre-trial exam on five felony charges of election law forgery May 31. The charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison, relate to a recall campaign against current Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower.
“Rev. Pinkney is in the mouth of the beast,” Pinkney told VOD. “What they don’t understand is that I’m a
beast killer. The exam today proved they have not a single drop of evidence to even take this to trial. But always remember—Berrien County needs no evidence.”
beast killer. The exam today proved they have not a single drop of evidence to even take this to trial. But always remember—Berrien County needs no evidence.”
Even the normally conservative Benton Harbor newspaper the Herald-Palladium said in headline coverage of the exam, “Expert witness can’t pin it on Pinkney.” Hightower is an ally of Whirlpool, a $19 billion global corporation which Pinkney and the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizations (BANCO), have targeted for years, saying it destroyed the city’s job base by closing its plants, grabbed its land, and now pays no city taxes. The recall petition cited Hightower’s failure to approve a city income tax which would have forced Whirlpool to pay taxes to Benton Harbor.
- Judge Sterling Schrock
The recall election, which was to have been held May 6 after Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler certified 402 petition signatures, was indefinitely postponed by Fifth District Judge John Dewane, citing the charges against Pinkney.
Fifth District Judge Sterling R. Shrock, who has contributed campaign funds to Pres. Barack Obama and other Democratic causes, is presiding over the criminal case. He said he will announce his decision on whether Pinkney should be bound over on Thurs. June 5, after he reviews the exhibits and examines the meaning of “probable cause.”
Read the full story.
Read the full story.
