Calif. County Tries To Toss Federal Suit Alleging Intimidation Of Hmong Voters

A rural California county is trying to convince a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of Hmong residents who allege local officials waged a voter intimidation campaign to keep them from participating in the California primary.

Attorneys for Siskiyou County officials argue that armed sheriff's deputies paying house visits to Hmong residents and inquiring about their registration status days before the June 7 primary did not amount to ethnically-motivated voter intimidation. Instead, they say Sheriff Jon Lopey’s team was working to investigate alleged voter fraud and illegal marijuana grow operations in the densely forested rural county.

“Plaintiffs' attempt to characterize the lawful investigation into voter fraud and enforcement of drug-abatement laws and ordinances as illegal and systematic targeting of Hmong residents based on their race is completely lacking,” the motion to dismiss, filed on October 13, reads.

Dominic Spinelli, a lawyer representing Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey as well as a county clerk and investigator from the secretary of state's office who were also named as defendants in the suit, said he was “very hesitant” to comment on pending litigation.

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