The Republican Party’s circular firing squad is blasting away
again.
Hollister – The Republican Party’s circular firing squad is blasting away again.
Prompted by a vulgar e-mail sent from the email address of the treasurer of the San Benito County Republican Central Committee, former committee chairman Marvin Jones filed a defamation suit Wednesday, claiming the e-mail could potentially hurt his ability to run for public office.
Jones is seeking $5,000 for “potential loss in consulting fees” and “negative impact on potential public office,” according to the small claims complaint filed Wednesday with the San Benito County Superior Court.
The suit alleges that committee treasurer Mark Schroeder publicly defamed Jones when Schroeder called him “a moron, a faggot, other sexually explicate terms, a geriatric white bastard and other racial epithets.”
The message was sent July 1. Jones said he is certain that it was Schroeder who drafted the message. Schroeder did not return phone calls Friday.
“We’ve had troubles in the past. When I was chairman he would be moderately disruptive. I’m comfortable it’s from Schroeder – it is his e-mail.”
The e-mail also denigrated the San Benito County Militia, an informal group of 10 to 15 people who meet for coffee throughout the week and discuss politics. Jones is a regular attendee.
“The bottom line is that your faggotty group needs a new hobby, but all the Viagra at Pfizer won’t help. I simply can’t imagine a group less intimidating than the girl scouts than your collection of geriatric white bastards,” the e-mail said.
Jones reported the e-mail to Hollister Police Thursday but was told sending the e-mail was not illegal.
“There’s nothing they can do,” he said. “It’s still under free speech. They did recognize it as potential hate mail and put it in their file.”
The e-mail and lawsuit are the latest salvos in a recent bout of Republican in-fighting in the county.
Last month Jennifer Zapata, chairwoman of the San Benito County Republican Central Committee, asked Jones to leave the group, accusing him of financial mismanagement during his tenure as chairman.
When Jones refused to resign Zapata filed a $5,000 small claims suit against him.
According to Jones, the day after a Free Lance article reported that Zapata asked Jones to resign, she sent him a letter stating that unless he resigned immediately she would report her allegations of fiscal misconduct to the Fair Political Practices Commission and other agencies.
Staff Writer Erin Musgrave contributed to this report.
