S.C. to drop lawsuit over rest-stop protests

By The Associated Press

09.06.02

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Attorney General Charlie Condon said this week he would drop the lawsuit filed earlier this year against the NAACP and a white-pride group over use of state rest stops and welcome centers for competing demonstrations.

Condon said on Sept. 4 that the lawsuit, filed in March, would cost the state money on litigation that no longer is necessary.

"There have been no acts of violence or disorder associated with the NAACP's border patrol, and time has proven that the boycott has been ineffective in achieving its goal of damaging our state's economy," he said.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the European-American Unity Rights Organization began staging protests in March.

The NAACP wanted to discourage motorists from spending money while traveling through the state. The demonstrations came in the third year of the group's boycott of South Carolina because of the display of the Confederate flag on Statehouse grounds.

A week after the NAACP began its border patrols, the New Orleans-based white-rights group EURO held what organizers described as "welcome patrols" in opposition to the NAACP protests.

Condon, who lost his bid for governor in the Republican primary, said he was concerned that such mass demonstrations along the interstate highway system could pose a threat to public safety. He said he also feared that South Carolina businesses could suffer if tourists were intimidated into avoiding stops in our state.

But Condon said his fears did not come to pass. The state's tourism industry has bounced back from Sept. 11 and remains strong, he said.

Lonnie Randolph, president of Columbia's NAACP branch, said he was not surprised Condon dropped the lawsuit.

"His bid for the governor's office is over. I felt all along this was a campaign issue," he said. "We were confident the lawsuit would not go anywhere."

Previous

S.C. official sues NAACP, white-pride group over rest-stop protests
Attorney general says dueling demonstrations violate state, federal laws governing activities at interstate welcome centers.  03.19.02

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