Brooks Brothers riot
Duration | November 22, 2000 |
---|---|
Location | Miami-Dade County, Florida |
Motive | Disrupt recount of votes in the 2000 United States presidential election |
Target | Officials canvassing the vote |
The Brooks Brothers riot was a
The name referenced the protesters'
Background
In the
The Miami-Dade County Democratic Party chairman suspected that thousands of ballots in this county might have been affected by a voting machine glitch.[6] He suspected that these ballots, after re-tallying, would help candidate Al Gore.[6] Miami-Dade County official canvassers, in order to meet a court-ordered deadline, decided to limit the county's recount to the 10,750 ballots that their tabulation machines had been unable to tally. They moved the counting process to a smaller room, closer to the ballot-scanning equipment, to speed up the process, at a distance from the media. Republican officials objected to this change.
Demonstration
Hundreds of people, including many
Republicans objected to this change of plans. John E. Sweeney of New York, nicknamed "Congressman Kick-Ass" by President Bush for his work in Florida,[9] set the incident in motion[10] by telling an aide to 'stop them'[1][5] and to "Shut it down."[1][5] The demonstration turned violent and, according to The New York Times, "several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. Sheriff's deputies restored order." Democratic National Committee aide Luis Rosero claimed to be kicked and punched outside of Leahy's office.[11] Within two hours after the event, the canvassing board unanimously voted to shut down the count, in part due to perceptions that the process was not open or fair, and in part because the court-mandated deadline had become impossible to meet, due to the interference.[11][12]
Sweeney defended his actions, arguing that his aim was not to stop the hand recount, but to restore the process to public view.[3] Other Bush supporters acknowledged they hoped to end the recount. "We were trying to stop the recount; Bush had already won," said Evilio Cepero, a reporter for WAQI, an influential Spanish talk radio station in Miami. "We were urging people to come downtown and support and protest this injustice." A Republican lawyer commented, "People were pounding on the doors, but they had an absolute right to get in."[11] The protest interfered with attendance by official observers and hindered access by members of the press.[13] In a radio interview in Albany on November 28, Sweeney said, "What I essentially told my people is, 'You've got to stop them'." "Whether I said, 'You've got to shut it down' or 'stop them,' I frankly don't quite recall."[3]
Several of the protestors were identified as Republican congressional staffers.[3][7] A number of the demonstrators later took jobs in the incoming Bush administration.[14]
Participants
A partial list:[14]
- Brad Blakeman, Republican strategist.[2]
- Chuck Royal, legislative assistant to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)[15]
- Duane Gibson, a Don Young aide on the House Resources Committee who worked for Ted Stevens, then became a lobbyist associated with Jack Abramoff[16]
- Garry Malphrus, who became deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Bush administration[14]
- Joel Kaplan, who became a policy advisor in the Bush administration, and later Vice President of U.S. Public Policy for Facebook, Inc[17][18]
- Kevin Smith, a former GOP House aide[14]
- Layna McConkey Peltier, a former Senate and House aide[19]
- Marjorie Strayer, an aide to New Mexico's Republican congresswoman, Heather Wilson.[7]
- Matt Schlapp, a former Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) House aide, becoming the White House political director during the Bush administration,[14] and director of the American Conservative Union in 2014.[20]
- Roger Morse, a former House aide who became a lobbyist[14]
- Roger Stone,[21] a self-described "GOP Hitman"[22] and former member of Nixon's Committee for the Re-Election of the President
- Rory Cooper, a former staffer for the White House Homeland Security Council[14]
- Steven Brophy, a former GOP Senate aide to Senators Fred Thompson, Bill Frist, and in 2003, Representative Marsha Blackburn, and later became V.P. at Dollar General[23]
- Tom Pyle, a former Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) staffer who later worked for Koch Industries[14]
Legacy
According to conversations leaked to
See also
- 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal
- Ballot Security Task Force, a controversial group founded in 1981 by the Republican National Committee and accused of intimidating voters and discouraging voter turnout among likely Democratic voters in New Jersey.
- Bush v. Gore, the 2000 Supreme Court decision deciding the fate of the 2000 United States presidential election.
- Democratic backsliding in the United States – Periods of democratic decline in the U.S.
- January 6 United States Capitol attack – 2021 attempt to prevent presidential electoral vote count
- Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election
References
- ^ a b c Gigot, Paul A. (November 24, 2000). "Miami Heat: A burgher rebellion in Dade County". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 16, 2006.
- ^ a b c Miller, Michael E. (November 15, 2018). "'It's insanity!': How the 'Brooks Brothers Riot' killed the 2000 recount in Miami". Washington Post.
- ^ a b c d e "Sweeney and the Siege of Miami", Slate, Timothy Noah, November 28, 2000. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ Gigot, Paul A. (November 24, 2000). "Miami Heat: A burgher rebellion in Dade County". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 16, 2006.
- ^ a b c Dana Canedy, Dexter Filkins (November 23, 2000), "Counting the Vote: Miami-Dade County; A Wild Day in Miami, With an End to Recounting, and Democrats' Going to Court", The New York Times
- ^ a b "'It's insanity!': How the 'Brooks Brothers Riot' killed the 2000 recount in Miami". The Washington Post.
The county's Democratic Party chairman was worried that thousands of Miami-Dade ballots might have been affected by a voting machine glitch, potentially costing Gore the election.
- ^ a b c d "Mob Scene in Miami", Time, November 26, 2000
- ^ Pullizi, Henry J (August 4, 2009), "White House Brushes Off Health-Care Protests", The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Staba, David (August 22, 2006), "Race Profile: The 20th District in New York", The New York Times,
- Salon, Politics
- ^ a b c Dexter Filkins and Dana Canedy. "Protest Influenced Miami-Dade's Decision to Stop Recount", The New York Times, November 24, 2008
- ^ Joe Conason (December 3, 2000). "Right-Wingers Praise Antics of Bush Thugs" The New York Observer
- ^ Clary, Mike (December 2, 2000). "Miami Mayor Denies Gore Urged Him to Publicly Support Recount". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kamen, Al (January 24, 2005). "Miami 'Riot' Squad: Where Are They Now?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
- ^ Miami 'Riot' Squad: Where Are They Now?, Washington Post, January 24, 2005.
- Huffington Post, September 7, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- ^ Rood, Justin (April 19, 2006). "New WH Policy Chief Was "Brooks Brothers" Rioter". Talking Points Memo.
- ^ Gold, Ashley (March 27, 2019). "The People With Power on Facebook's Policy and Communications Team". The Information.
- ^ Heard on the Hill: Still a Riot, 10 Years Later[permanent dead link], Roll Call, Alison McSherry, November 15, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Matt Schlapp elected ACU chairman, Politico, Katie Glueck, June 19, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ Reinhard, Beth (May 17, 2008). "Bush strategist shares insight on '00 recount". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
- ^ Sarlin, Benjamin (November 20, 2008). "A GOP Dirty Trickster Has Second Thoughts". The Daily Beast.
- ^ Steve Brophy honored by Tennessee National Guard, Williamson Herald, Mindy Tate, January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- OCLC 1330888409. Archivedfrom the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.