Mayor Urges Suspension of City Hate-Crime Panel
Mayor Alan Autry said he wants to suspend a city committee that monitors discrimination and hate crimes after its chairwoman labeled a local organization a “hate group.”
Autry was reacting to a news release Human Relations Commission Chairwoman Debbie Reyes issued Friday stating that “a rally is being organized by a hate group called ‘The Free Republic.’ ” It was stamped with the city of Fresno’s seal.
Reyes said she wrote the release because a link on the Web site “refers to this group as anti-gay and anti-immigration. When intolerance comes to the table, we need to answer that call.”
The Free Republic is a Web site operated by Fresno resident Jim Robinson, who introduces it as “an online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the Web.”
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.