Dead men tell no tales but in D.C. they can still register to lobby.
The unarmed black teen shot and killed in August by a Ferguson, Mo. police officer, sparking mass protests, has filed as a registered lobbyist. Or at least someone did it for him.
As Ferguson awaits the decision of a grand jury on whether to indict Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, a D.C. lobbying organization has taken the unusual step of listing the deceased Brown as one of its lobbyists in a filing. Fighting Apartheid Confrontation Transformation Systems Inc. has registered to lobby since 1999.
The organization, also known as FACTS Inc., listed Wilson's possible indictment for "improper procedure on the police force duties/activities" as the central lobbying issue. It also cites an autopsy analysis that shows Brown "was shot in the hand at close range."
Along with Brown, the president of FACTS, Harold Hunter, is listed on the lobbying form with several others. In Brown's death, they plan to lobby the House, Senate, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Education, Department of Justice, Legal Services Corp., Small Business Administration, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Copyright Office and White House.
The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the police department in Ferguson.
FACTS has also lobbied on racism and the death of Trayvon Martin, the "Stand Your Ground" law in the Martin case and racial profiling, according to filings.
The listing of Brown is not the only unusual claim the organization has made in lobbing filings. FACTS has listed the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and president of the NAACP as lobbyists on the team. Hunter called it an "honest mistake" at the time.
