Protest at Jankkklow's first court appearance, 2 Sept 2003
We were able to finally get something on TV station KSFY TV out of
Fargo,N.D and Sioux Falls,S.D. So it wasn't too bad after all.
Plus, A news paper reporter did a interview with some of Our People. That
reporter was from the argus leader out of Sioux Falls, S.D.
This started to happen after we got on the bull horn and starting talking
about the Media suppression and Black out against Our People. That seemed
to turn the media around.
Alfred Bone Shirt
For more Jankkklow links and news click here
'It's been a very hard day'
2 Sept 2003
Argus Leader
Jon Walker
Argus Leader
FLANDREAU - Bill Janklow's day in court Tuesday gave South Dakotans a view of
a man they had not seen before.
The commanding self-confidence was gone. The ruddy complexion was gone. The
sure-footed sense of direction was missing from his step as he shuffled through
a crowd of reporters and photographers to make his way into the Moody County
Courthouse to answer for the Aug. 16 death of Randy E. Scott.
"It's been a very hard day," said Jeanie Stahl, 35, owner of the Family
Pharmacy and Gift and a longtime supporter of South Dakota's Republican congressman.
Janklow's court date was his first public appearance since Scott's death, and
his time before Circuit Judge Rodney Steele was a brief three minutes - from
1:28 to 1:31 p.m., as recorded by court reporter Jerome Johnson. The outcome -
setting a preliminary hearing for Sept. 25 and 26 - was a letdown for any of
the 86 people in court who expected to hear him speak or enter a plea.
But the scene alone revealed the taxing process the congressman and former
governor might face throughout his time in court. With his right hand in a cast
from an injury in the accident that killed Scott, Janklow worked his way
through the pressing crowd, ignoring reporters' questions along the 150-foot walk
from the curb to the courthouse door. His son-in-law, Bill Haugen, and his
lawyer, Ed Evans of Sioux Falls, held his arms to help him up the 42 marble steps
to the third-floor courtroom.
The spectacle annoyed many who stood outside. "I sympathize with Bill
Janklow," said Tanya Grootwassink, 17, a senior at Flandreau High School. "I feel the
media have blown this way out of proportion. They're benefiting from his
misery and that's just not right."
Others were less charitable. "Now the shoe's on the other foot. He should
have been behind bars all along," said Robin Bair, 37, of Wagner, an American
Indian Movement member and longtime Janklow critic.
Others noted that it was impossible to fully understand Janklow's grief. Jim
Hagen, a friend to the congressman for 10 years who has served him as chief of
staff and confidant, flew home last week from his job in California to help
his former boss. What he sees in Janklow is someone who is depressed over the
accident that killed Scott.
"Some way, if he could trade places with Mr. Scott, he would do it in a
heartbeat," Hagen said after the court session.
Allen Hecht, a maintenance employee who has worked for Moody County the past
27 years, said Tuesday's probably was the biggest event to occur in the
courthouse since it opened in 1914. "There have been some fairly notorious trials
here, but nothing that's had the notoriety as this," he said. "We have one lone
congressman. This is his hometown."
After Janklow walked into court at 1:20 p.m., a silence covered the room
until Judge Steele arrived eight minutes later. JoAnn Nichols, 68, a lifelong
friend of Janklow's, was there, as was Madison businessman Jerry Prostrollo, who
hugged the former governor and "just gave him a word of encouragement."
Jim Wainscoat sat near the back with his four home-schooled children, age 7
to 12. They made the 80-mile trip from Viborg for a lesson in American civics.
"We're focusing on due process right now, and now we're seeing due process
about to begin," Wainscoat said. "What better way to learn?"
Ron Volesky, a Huron city councilman and former legislator who was in Pierre
when Janklow was governor, came into court with his wife, Tara. He worked his
way through the rows of wooden pews to approach Janklow from behind and tap
his shoulder. When Janklow turned and looked, "he said, 'Hi Buddy,' and grabbed
my hand," Volesky said later. "He was very somber and emotional. When he
turned around and grabbed my hand, I noticed, obviously, his eyes were watering."
Janklow said nothing in court, letting his lawyers arrange a preliminary
hearing in three weeks and his release on a personal recognizance bond. When
Steele adjourned the session, Janklow walked down the stairs and through the
hastily reassembled crowd on the sidewalk. He stepped into the passenger seat of a
white GMC Yukon and rode off.
He had heard the cheers of sign-waving friends and, if he looked up, he saw
the "We still love Bill" banner posted a block away behind Stahl's store.
He did miss one encounter with critics who arrived too late to see him. Bair
and his wife, Frances Zephier, came 160 miles from Wagner to display the AIM
flag and a banner against the former governor. They wanted to come for the
hearing, but two flat tires forced them to wait for a ride from another AIM member
from Rosebud. They set up their protest at 3 p.m., when their audience was
reduced to national network cameramen idling away the afternoon as they waited
to do live shots for the evening news.
"It's good to see they're charging him, but I don't see that it's going to be
fair," said Zephier, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.
Amanda Allen, 26, of Flandreau, who is three-fourths Cheyenne River, was
among those who drove past the scene for a look. "I think it is being handled
fairly," she said. "He's being treated as a citizen. He showed up for court. He's
doing whatever the law is telling him to do."
Reporter David Kranz contributed to this report. Reach reporter Jon Walker at
800-530-6397 or 331-2206.
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