Tou Ger Bennett Xiong
Coalition for Community Relations' letter. Sent on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. The Honorable Jon D. Seifert. District Attorney of Pepin County. 315 2nd Avenue West. P.O. Box 206. Durand, WI 54736. Dear Mr. District Attorney, I am writing on behalf of the Coalition for Community Relations (CCR), a multi-racial citizens group, based in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We were formed in the wake of the Chai Shoua Vang trial ten years ago and as a response to the rampant acts of racism in the community. Our mission is to improve community relations and to foster a healthy dialogue among and between different ethnic and racial groups. Since then we have worked extensively with Wisconsin and Minnesota law enforcement agencies, DNR, public officials, and community leaders, both Hmong and non-Hmong alike, to bring awareness to these issues.
In 2005, CCR members observed, documented, and published certain findings in the handling of the Chai Soua Vang trial that we believed contributed to the distrust of our judicial system and the deterioration of race relations among our communities. A summary of our findings can be found at the link below: www.hmongtimes.com. news.minnesota.publicradio.org. We are extremely concerned about a case that took place on November 5, 2014 concerning Mr. Kevin Elberg of Pepin and Mr. Sao Lue Vang of Menomonie. To be frank, we fear that due to the racial overtones of this case, there may be a potential backlash of vigilante justice which could further lead to more fear, distrust, and animosity in the woods, as we have seen in the case of Mr. James Nichols in 2007. He was a Pestigo hunter convicted of killing and hiding the body of another hunter and immigrant, Mr. Cha Vang. Although the two had never met, at his trial Mr. Nichols testified that, “Hmong people are bad.”
A colleague of Mr. Nichols also testified that months earlier, he heard Nichols saying that he was going to kill a Hmong someday. www.nbcnews.com. As a citizens watch group, we cannot emphasize enough the delicate nature of this case, considering that it comes on the 10th anniversary of the Chai Soua Vang incident. We also fear that misperception and misinformation may lead to personal acts of retaliation against certain groups. For example during the Chai Soua Vang proceedings, witnesses reported seeing bumper stickers that stated, “Save a Deer, Shoot a Hmong”. During that time, a Hmong family’s mobile home in Menomonie was vandalized and spray-painted “KKK” on the side of it. And at the trial of Chai Soua Vang in Hayward, WI, a man dressed in camouflage fatigue stood across the street from the courthouse holding a sign that stated, “Send Killer Vang back to Vietnam.” Just as it was ten years ago, and as this case demonstrates, it is an issue of public safety.
Therefore, we strongly feel that any mishandling of this case could jeopardize the public trust in the judicial process again and possibly put more innocent community members at risk. History has proven more often than not, that a lack of transparency in such a case greatly impacts the already tense race relations and distrust in our communities. As a concerned citizens group, we ask the following: 1) It has been almost a month so why has Mr. Elberg not been charged and what is taking so long? 2) Secondly, would there be any reasons of concern regarding a possible conflict of interest due to your relationship with the Mr. Elberg? If so, would you recuse yourself from your role in this matter? We ask because we have seen how the justice system has failed our community before. It is our hope that you proceed with integrity, professionalism, and without bias in your role as a public official. That said, we are anxiously awaiting actions from your office.
Respectfully, Tou Ger Bennett Xiong Coalition of Community Relations, Member.
