CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is reviewing a series of racist letters sent to local black leaders, and a county commissioner is pushing for a full-blown investigation into the matter.
CMPD is investigating copies of a threatening letter mailed to black elected leaders in the county, city and school district. That letter, nearly two pages long, said, "Black Democrats should be tarred and feathered and run out of town" and sent "screaming to the concentration camps."
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Although hate speech is protected by the First Amendment, County Commissioner Vilma Leake said she believes the language goes beyond hate speech. She said the letters are filled with intimidation and threats.
At least four letters have been sent out in the last couple of weeks.
Leake later set up a private meeting with the county district attorney, CMPD and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.
She would like a full investigation into the letters.
The meeting on Tuesday was about 20 minutes long.
“I feel very good,” Leake said after the meeting. “I feel much better in terms of the provision of some security, safety.”
Leake said she gave police the handwritten envelope to help them identify the person who sent it.
“Oh, I'm not through with it,” she said. “I'm going to push it all the way because it's infringing on my rights. I didn't infringe on theirs, so it's for me to protect me.”
When the letter showed up on her desk, she told Channel 9 she didn't know what to make of it.
But she said that after reading two lines, the writer's message became crystal clear.
The same letter has showed up in the mailboxes of other local African American politicians and Leake said the message was provocative and very personal.
"My life is being threatened. My very existence is being threatened. My participation in the community is being threatened," Leake said.