Conspiracy Theory
Over the last several months, media coverage about U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown has focused on her recent indictments for fraud. Perception of Brown might seem poor, but after 23 years in Congress, Brown has a strong base of support despite the legal mess in which she’s currently embroiled. And many of those supporters are crying foul and suggesting a larger conspiracy is at play.
Currently, Brown faces 22 federal charges stemming from her alleged involvement with Virginia-based charity One Door for Education. The federal indictment states that the charity took in more than $800,000 over a period of four years, of which only $1,200 was given to charitable causes.
Carla Wiley, the charity’s president, has had similar fraud charges brought against her, to which she pleaded guilty. Sentencing in Wiley’s case has been postponed as she continues to work with federal officials. With Wiley’s cooperation, federal authorities have mounted formal criminal charges stating that Brown was the other party involved in the scam.
These accusations, according to several of Brown’s sympathizers, have been fabricated to prevent her re-election this fall.
Denise Hunt, an avid local activist and social commentator, believes the charges are a political and racial attack on Brown.
“I think the allegations are questionable,” said Hunt. “Really, what I think is that there’s a witch hunt. I think that the focus of [the FBI] and the Justice Department for [the indictment] is far-reaching and … politically motivated.”
When asked who would be politically motivated to make such a ploy to get rid of Brown, Hunt points out that Brown is a powerful, African-American member of Congress.
“I think it’s being fabricated by a lot of white people who don’t want to see her re-elected because of the power that she’s going to have once she is elected,” said Hunt.
In the state’s history, Brown is only one of seven African-Americans to represent Florida at the congressional level. Throughout her career, Brown has been a strong advocate for local minorities. This, according to Hunt, makes her a political target.
“There’s an attempt to get her out of [office] and it’s really white supremacy,” Hunt said. “It really brought out the white supremacy in this city. You get to see the racial undercurrents.”
Hunt admits that she’s not sure if Brown or her chief of staff Elias “Ronnie” Simmons are guilty or innocent, but argues they still deserve due process of law under the 14th Amendment, which protects accused citizens from being deprived of their rights or privileges without legal process.
This right to due process is what, Hunt claims, Brown’s supporters are demanding.
Cece Grays, who goes to church with Brown and is a member of the New Jim Crow Movement, also believes the charges leveled against the Congresswoman are rooted in politics. She, however, blames State Attorney Angela Corey.
“Black women are targeted by the government and they are targeted by Corey,” said Grays. She believes Corey’s history of seeking harsh sentences against African-Americans exposes her racism and bias toward a black woman in Congress.
Grays discussed a movement within the local African-American community to have Corey voted out of office. This, according to Grays, was the motivation for a political attack to bring down Brown, an advocate for the community intent on ousting Corey.
In addition to Corey’s alleged role, Grays believes Simmons had knowledge of the charity’s fraudulent purpose and withheld the information from Brown. Simmons has also been indicted in the case.
“He’s trying to pin it on her,” said Grays.
When asked about Brown soliciting donations for the charity, Grays said she believes Brown was involved with that charity, but “didn’t know the money was bad.” She believes Brown placed trust in the wrong people while she herself had “every intention to do the right thing.”
Like Hunt, Grays wants to raise awareness of Brown’s case and her right to due legal process, something Grays believes she is being denied.
In an effort to open community discussion on the issue, Grays has started the Facebook group “Free Representative Corrine Brown.” The group has nearly 1,200 members at press time.
Another member of Brown’s church, Rasul Pough, holds the same opinion that Brown’s charges are rooted in a racist political system targeting African-American representatives.
“Black politicians are constantly under scrutiny,” Pough said. He cites this as a reason for the lack of African-American representation in state and national offices. Instead, they’ve been represented by politicians who have no concern for poverty, educational funding gaps faced in many minority neighborhoods and other issues affecting the community.
“It’s not a level playing field and that’s why Brown has been fighting for the cause of African-Americans and she struggles,” Pough continued.
Pough likened the case against Brown to that of a witch hunt, by multiple state and federal authorities, including Corey. Grassroots efforts and calls to remove Corey by the African-American community have been noticed by Corey’s campaign workers, according to Pough, and consequently, they’ve focused on removing Brown.
Dr. Juan Gray, board chairman of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a civil rights advocacy organization, believes Brown made mistakes, but believes she isn’t the only one.
Dr. Gray acknowledges that the case against Brown falls outside the purview of the SCLC, which he says monitors and combats racial inequalities, economic inequalities and violence.
However, Dr. Gray believes there is systemic fraud and corruption within the Jacksonville political community. These issues cross racial and political lines, but each of the issues still play a central role in how allegations, such as those against Brown, are handled, he says.
Like others, Dr. Gray notes that Brown’s indictment comes weeks before she faces a tough primary hurdle in her bid for re-election, which he believes was done intentionally by political forces trying to take her long-held seat in Congress. Ultimately, he says, the remaining racial tensions in Jacksonville politics are coming to play in the case.
Despite this, Dr. Gray questions Brown’s accomplishments for the community. He believes she has failed constituents in Northwest Jacksonville and the Southside Boulevard corridor. Dr. Gray also anticipates authorities finding more improperly used funds in the case than the originally quoted $800,000.
On Aug. 30, Brown will attempt to once again secure the Democratic nomination for Florida’s 5th Congressional District.
Will the allegations hurt her chances of re-election?
Neil Henrichsen, Duval County Democratic Executive Committee chair, wasn’t certain to what extent the indictment would touch Brown’s re-election campaign. But he said the local party hopes that she will maintain her seat because it not only “benefits Democrats, but also Duval County.”
According to Henrichsen, Brown, as a Jacksonville native, knows the issues the county faces. And while he expressed disappointment about the situation from both his and the party’s points of view, Henrichsen firmly maintains that the seat will not be lost to a conservative candidate.
“There’s no chance a Republican will win the seat,” said Henrichsen. “Not with their anti-middle class and anti-working class policies.”
Henrichsen, an attorney, said he doesn’t know if Brown is guilty, but he has full confidence in the judicial system to arrive at the correct conclusion.
Brown’s supporters have even more confidence in her ability to be re-elected.
“I don’t think black people give a damn about all that,” said Hunt, referring to the charges against Brown. She believes the African-American community has become accustomed to their representatives being attacked politically. For this reason, she thinks voters will look past the allegations and re-elect Brown.
Grays also believes the community of supporters Brown has amassed over her decades in office will carry her to re-election.
“True followers of [Brown] will continue to follow her,” said Grays. “Those who just follow to do so then, yeah, they might not support her, but those people never really believed in her to begin with.”
The calendar might also assist Brown’s re-election effort. Last week the trial, originally scheduled for Sept. 6, was postponed until October. Carla Wiley’s sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 12. So when Democrats vote in the Aug. 30 primary, they will do so without hearing whatever comes out at trial — for better or for worse.
If Brown is able to win the party’s nomination, she will still face criminal charges while campaigning for the general election in a newly redrawn district considered more conservative and less diverse than her previous district lines. Time — and the voters — will tell what impact, if any, these developments will have on the continuing political career of Congresswoman Corrine Brown.
Published by Folio Weekly.
