Posts Tagged: invasion

Armed Black Panthers in the Capitol, 50 years on

A Black Panther Party member brings a shotgun into the state Capitol, May 2, 1967. He was one of two dozen armed Panthers who entered the building. (Photo: Walt Zeboski/Associated Press)

by CHUCK MCFADDEN posted 04.26.2017

It’s largely forgotten now, but 50 years ago, it created a national sensation. It even caused the National Rifle Association and Ronald Reagan to back a gun-control bill authored by a Republican. Tuesday is the 50th anniversary of the May 2, 1967 “invasion” of the state Capitol by two dozen gun-toting Black Panthers.

End of session: Attack of the drones

A professionally operated drone heads into the sunset. (Photo: Concept W, Shutterstock)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 09.09.2015

Drone bills are buzzing the Capitol and making a beeline for the governor’s desk. At least four measures to curb their use already have flown out of the Legislature with bipartisan support. A fifth, approved in the Senate, awaits action in the Assembly. The governor has not disclosed his position on any of the bills, the remnants of a dozen pieces of legislation that have targeted drones during the past two years.

A state Senate security officer, whose residence was the scene of a night of drinking and drug use that ended in gunfire and a death, was accompanied during police questioning by a lawyer for a politically connected lobbying firm who said he was a “family friend,” court records show.

A drug- and alcohol-fueled gun battle that left one man dead at the suburban Sacramento residence of a legislative security officer has shed light on the unusual power of a longtime Senate employee and ended the career of the Senate’s chief sergeant at arms. Two suspects in the robbery, kidnapping and ensuing gun play during the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2012, stand trial on Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court.