Friday, January 26, 2018

Trump Administration Keeping EYE on the CORRUPTION at NOOKSACK and BOB KELLY

Indianz.com has the story:

The Trump administration is continuing to assert oversight in a long-running and highly-charged leadership and disenrollment dispute within the Nooksack Tribe.
Some within the tribe expressed optimism after the Bureau of Indian Affairs reached an agreement last fall with Bob Kelly, the disputed chairman on the reservation in Washington state. The deal called for a new council election, one in which hundreds of people who were being kicked off the rolls were able to participate.
But hopes have been dashed since the December vote. The BIA has called more than 100 ballots into question, a number so large that it could sway the outcome of the results for the four council seats that were on the general election ballot.
"Our immediate reaction to the general election results was that the total vote count appeared to be about 100 votes too high," said Michelle Roberts, a tribal citizen who serves as a spokesperson for those who have clashed with Kelly and his faction. "It now appears to have been 126 votes too high. We have no doubt the election was a sham."
Separately, a former council member who opposed the disenrollment purge, has filed two lawsuits in connection with the struggle. In one, Carmen Tageant alleges she was "assaulted and battered" by the tribe's police chief earlier this month when she attempted to file as a candidate in an upcoming election. In the second, she says an unnamed individual has engaged in a "cyber-harassment" campaign against her by posting personal and threatening information about her online.
The lawsuit alleges the individual behind a Facebook profile is connected to Kelly and his faction. Some on the social media site believe the person controlling the "Keith Williams" account is actually Kelly, though there is little direct proof of that at this point.
According to the complaint, Tageant has "suffered severe emotional trauma. Ms. Tageant has been unable to sleep. Instead of focusing on her professional career, Ms. Tageant has had to worry about her safety and the safety of her seven children. She has had to work hard to repair her professional and personal reputations."

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