By Alayna Shulman of the Redding Record Searchlight
In the week leading up to June's state primary election, at least two investigators from California Secretary of State Alex Padilla's office spent three days tracking down members of the Hmong community in rural Siskiyou County.
But when allegations that they and local officers had intimidated those potential voters surfaced, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey says the state office left him to take the blame.
Now, the issue has gained new life: A federal lawsuit looms, and Lopey has hired an attorney of his own to help restore a reputation he says was victim of a smear campaign.
While the state's involvement is under renewed scrutiny, Lopey continues to face questions of his own about the events of early summer. Some of them come from Hmong residents who say the pattern of intimidation that spurred their lawsuit continues with selective enforcement of marijuana cultivation laws.
Originating in one of the state's least populated and most conservative counties, the case is caught in the crosswinds of race, marijuana policy and law enforcement...
Read more at:
http://www.redding.com/news/local/records-state-agency-sought-to-obscure-role-in-intimidation-case-3daab645-d80b-4b44-e053-0100007f1cb-395481521.html
