SIMI VALLEY : White Supremacist Seeks Inquiry Into Stopping of March

White supremacist Richard Barrett said Tuesday he was mailing a letter to U.S. Atty. Gen. William P. Barr, calling for an “investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the violence and terrorism in Simi Valley on June 6.”

Barrett, a Mississippi attorney who heads the Nationalist Movement, tried to march that day with six associates in support of the Rodney G. King beating trial verdicts.

Police called off the parade, however, after about 300 counterdemonstrators became unruly and tossed soda cans at the supremacists.

In his letter, Barrett said the counterdemonstrators violated his constitutional right to free speech and should be prosecuted under federal law.

He also said he is planning to return to Simi Valley for a second march and will seek greater protection from the California National Guard.

Six counterdemonstrators were arrested, but Barrett criticized Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury for not prosecuting more of the people who disrupted his march.

Assistant Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin J. McGee said one counterdemonstrator has been charged and the remaining cases are being processed.

He denied that local authorities were not aggressively prosecuting the counterdemonstrators.

“Our job is to enforce the law,” McGee said.

“If we have a provable criminal offense, we will file that case. We enforce the law evenhandedly,” he said.