From today’s The Hill (no link):
A few weeks ago, Minnesota state Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D) prospects of
becoming the first Muslim ever to serve in Congress looked strong.
As he moved toward the Sept. 12 Democratic primary, Ellison had garnered
high- profile endorsements from the state Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party as
well as from the Minnesota AFL-CIO and other key unions.
But that was before two conservative Web logs began to do a little digging
on Ellison/s background. What they found – Ellison’s ties to Louis
Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam and his public defense of radicals who were
later convicted of murder – has made many Democrats in the
Minneapolis-based 5th district a bit nervous…….. In law school, Ellison wrote an opinion piece defending Louis Farrakhan
and also helped bring a speaker to the campus for a lecture titled:
“Zionism: White Supremacy, Imperialism or Both?”
Ellison also has been criticized for a speech he made at a fundraiser for
Sara Jane Olsen, a member of the radical Symbionese Liberation Army in the
1970s who changed identities and hid out in Minnesota for many years,
living as a suburban mom, before pleading guilty to several violent acts.
“I think, just like the people who want to come together and lock up Sara,
we need to come together and free Sara,” Ellison said in 2000.
Ellison also spoke in support of Assata Shakur, a former Black Panther who
was convicted of murdering a New Jersey state police officer and a fellow
activist.
Note: Powerline’s been all over this.