FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1995 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 ALABAMA MAN INDICTED FOR MAILING THREATENING LETTERS TO AFRICAN AMERICAN CITIZENS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An Alabama man who allegedly mailed threatening letters to black citizens in the town of Chickasaw telling them to go back to Africa and intimating that the area was going to become a "nigger graveyard" was indicted by a federal grand jury, the Justice Department announced today. The four count indictment, returned in Mobile, alleged that Daniel Stephen Williamson violated civil rights laws by mailing threatening letters to two Chickasaw families because they were black. The letters, which were mailed in July, contained graphic and explicit threatening language and warned the black families to "get out while you can." "This indictment shows that racially motivated hatred is not a thing of the past," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick. "We are committed to the vigorous prosecution of all cases that reflect the discrimination that still exists in society." Counts one and three of the indictment charged Williamson, of Saraland, Alabama, with knowingly depositing a letter in the mail which contained threats to injure the individuals to whom they were addressed. Counts two and four alleged that Williamson violated civil rights statutes by attempting to intimidate and interfere with the rights of the victims because of their race. "The type of outrageous conduct alleged in the indictment will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full limits of the law," said J. Don Foster, U.S. Attorney in Mobile. If convicted, Williamson faces a maximum sentence of 12 years imprisonment and up to $700,000 in fines. "Incidents like these remind us all that intolerance is still alive in our great nation," added Patrick. A copy of the indictment, which contains the text of the letters, will accompany this release. # # # 95-166