Ind. Prosecutor Quits After E-Mails About Wis. Protesters
FRANKLIN, Ind. (CBS/WBBM) -- A lawsuit that led to the release of hundreds of e-mails to Wisconsin's Gov. Scott Walker has resulted in the resignation of a prosecutor in Indiana.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Mike Krauser reports, Johnson County, Ind., deputy prosecutor Carlos Lam sent an email to Walker, suggesting he might make the protesting union members look bad by orchestrating an attack on himself.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Mike Krauser reports
Podcast
"If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions' cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the public unions," Lam wrote.
Lam's boss called it a "foolish suggestion," and accepted Lam's resignation.
The protests went on for several weeks, as Walker worked to pass a law that ended collective bargaining for most unionized public employees.
Meanwhile, 14 state Senate Democrats left to hide out in Illinois, preventing the quorum required for the state Senate to vote on bills involving spending money, as the legislation curbing unions had been part of Walker's budget proposal.
But after a few weeks, the Republicans took all the spending measures out of the legislation, but kept in the provision to restrict collective bargaining rights for state employees. The Senate passed the bill a short time later without the Democrats.
The state Assembly passed the bill soon afterward, and Walker signed it into law.
The incident with Lam is not the first time an official elsewhere has gotten in trouble for remarks about the protesters in Wisconsin.
Last month a deputy Indiana attorney general was fired after he suggested on Twitter that police use live ammunition on the Wisconsin protesters. Jeffery Cox said he was being satirical.
Also, the idea of "planting some troublemakers" among the protesters was mentioned in the infamous prank to Walker in which left-leaning blogger Ian Murphy pretended to be billionaire industrialist and Walker backer David Koch.
Walker said in response at the time, "we thought about that," but, "My only fear would be is if there was a ruckus caused, it is that that would scare the public into thinking that maybe the governor has got to settle to avoid all these problems."
(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
