May 17, 2016

Bernie Sanders Refuses to Apologize for Nevada Democratic Convention Chaos

The Vermont senator defiantly rejected accusations his supporters were violent.

Dan Koeck/Reuters/ZUMA

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Sen. Bernie Sanders is refusing to apologize after a group of his supporters sparked chaos over a dispute on convention rules and delegate eligibility at the Nevada Democratic Party convention on Saturday. The uproar reportedly involved violent behavior and death threats directed at party leaders.

“Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization,” Sanders said in a statement released on Tuesday. “Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence.’ That is nonsense. Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence.”

A defiant Sanders then went on to blame Democratic leadership for using “its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place.”

His response follows multiple reports of angry Sanders supporters flipping chairs at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel event and growing evidence of violent texts and voicemails that targeted Nevada Democratic Party chairwoman Roberta Lange and her family. (A few of those disturbing messages, which include calling Lange a “corrupt bitch,” can be heard here.) Some supporters even talked about “guaranteed fires” taking place at July’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.


“This group of about 100 were very vocal and I can’t describe it,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who was present at the convention, told CNN. “Disrespectful doesn’t even explain it, it was worse than that.”

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid expressed his disappointment in Sanders’ response, saying he was “better than that.”

“Bernie should say something—not have some silly statement,” Reid said. “Bernie is better than that. I’m surprised by his statement. I thought he was going to do something different.”

Earlier on Tuesday, while campaigning in Puerto Rico, whose Democratic caucus will be on June 5, Sanders dodged a reporter’s question about his supporters’ behavior by turning his back and walking away.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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