Subject: FBI Responds in Mississippi
From: "David B. O'Donnell" <[email-masked]>

NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE POLICY INSTITUTE
1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC, 20009
(202) 332-6483 / FAX (202) 332-0207
TTY (202) 332-6219 / E-mail: <[email-masked]>
     
FBI LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION IN MISSISSIPPI
Agency Responds to Mail Threat Sent to Camp Sister Spirit
     
 Washington, D.C. -- (January 26, 1994) -- The FBI launched an investigation
this week in the volatile situation in Ovett, Mississippi. Two lesbians in
Ovett have been harassed and threatened, and opponents have organized town
meetings to condemn the women and their feminist retreat and plot ways to
force them from town. The FBI initiated the investigation after Brenda and
Wanda Henson of Camp Sister Spirit received a threat through the U.S. mail,
which is a federal offense.
     
 On Jan. 11, the Hensons received through the mail a defaced news article
about themselves and Camp Sister Spirit with a threatening message
hand-written beneath the original headline. The letter was handed over to the
FBI last week.
     
 The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) forwarded a copy of the
letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Jan. 12, following a meeting NGLTF
attended that same day with the Justice Department to discuss federal
involvement in the situation. Justice officials said at the meeting that
because sexual orientation is not included in federal civil rights laws, the
agency could only launch an investigation if there are violations of other
generally applicable federal statutes, such as mail or phone threats.
     
 NGLTF agreed to forward to the Justice Department details of violent and
threatening incidents aimed at the Hensons so that the agency could determine
whether any of the incidents violate federal criminal code and could be cause
for an investigation. Following the meeting, NGLTF contacted the Hensons and
received a chronological list of incidents targeting them and Camp Sister
Spirit, as well as a copy of the mail threat. NGLTF forwarded the information
immediately to the Justice Department. The Hensons also directly contacted
the FBI in Mississippi.
     
 NGLTF has called on the Department of Justice to intervene by monitoring and
mediating the situation. In a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno last
month, NGLTF Executive Director Peri Jude Radecic requested that the
Department of Justice intervene in the following ways: the Community
Relations Service perform mediation in the community to alleviate the
potential for violence; the FBI monitor the situation for any possible hate
crimes; and the Civil Rights Division investigate any attempts to violate the
Hensons' civil rights.
     
 "The FBI investigation is an important step towards insuring the safety and
rights of the Hensons," said Robin Kane, NGLTF Public Information Manager.
"NGLTF continues to stress the need for the Attorney General to direct the
Community Relations Service to mediate. This situation highlights how the
absence of federal civil rights laws that include sexual orientation prevent
federal agencies from protecting the rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual
citizens."
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