To the editor:
Rep. David Gomberg, the Newport News-Times (“Charges to be dismissed in July 4 rioting case,” May 18) and Otis resident Ken Sund (“Lincoln County goes lenient on Russian thugs,” News-Times letter, May 25) all have raised questions about why Lincoln County let a bunch of goons from Clark County, Wash. (and the former Soviet Union) off the hook for rioting on a Lincoln City beach and terrorizing a Black family with racist slurs and Nazi salutes July 4, 2020.
The News-Times reported that original charges of rioting, harassment and racial intimidation filed under former district attorney Jonathan Cable have been reduced to misdemeanors of disorderly conduct and possession of illegal fireworks.
But none of them have asked the party who ultimately is responsible — new Lincoln County District Attorney Lanee Danforth — why these men were not prosecuted for hate crimes, instead of receiving legal wrist slaps.
During her expensive, self-funded 2021 campaign for office, Danforth talked about leadership, integrity, advocating for victims, and upholding and enforcing the law. But lately she seems more interested in bickering with the county commissioners and with writing Facebook posts endorsing conservative county commission candidates Mark Watkins and Carter McEntee, both of whom are under investigation by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office for complaints about their blatant violations of campaign finance reporting laws.
So how about it, Lanee Danforth? Please explain to the public why you let a batch of racist, hate-mongering, neo-Nazi thugs off easy instead of prosecuting them for hate crimes?
— Lee J. Siegel/Beverly Beach