“White supremacist ‘stabbed and beaten to death by his black neighbour’ in Mississippi town”
A white supremacist lawyer was stabbed and beaten to death by a black neighbour who had done yard work for him at his home in Pearl, Mississippi.
A preliminary post mortem showed Richard Barrett, 67, was stabbed multiple times in the neck and bashed in the head, Sheriff Ronnie Pennington said.
He had burns over 35 per cent of his body, though investigators believe he was killed on Wednesday night and his house set on fire Thursday to cover up his death.
Pennington did not disclose a motive but said neighbour Vincent McGee, 22, was charged with murder on Thursday and deputies charged three other people in the case on Friday.
… Barrett traveled the country to promote anti-black and anti-immigrant views and founded a supremacist group called the Nationalist Movement. He had a knack for publicity but little real influence, one expert said.
‘Richard Barrett was a guy who ran around the country essentially pulling off publicity stunts,’ said Mark Potok, who monitors hate groups for the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.
‘He really never amounted to any kind of leader in the white supremacist movement.’
His body was found on Thursday morning after neighbours saw smoke coming from his house in a rural area of Jackson.
Why would a relatively ineffective white supremacist be killed, and why now? After digesting weeks of analysis and commentary from mainstream news media and pundits, I think I can answer those questions pretty accurately.
Obviously, someone has been stirring up hatred and resentment against middle-aged white people, a/k/a “Teabaggers,” accusing them of racism, sedition, and generally posing an existential threat to all decent, freedom-loving Americans. A member of the minority community was provoked by all the anti-white rhetoric that has been swirling around the air waves and decided to take matters into his own hands. Naturally the blame for Barrett’s death lies squarely on those who have been openly hostile toward middle-aged whites.
I’m sure Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are on a plane to Mississippi right now, preparing to investigate examples of outrageous rhetoric that drives the unstable among us to commit violent acts.
I’ll post links to all the MSNBC coverage as it airs…
