Wild Michigan-style politics turns into ugly GOP fracas on Virgin Islands

UPDATE: Dennis Lennox just informed me that he does intend to pursue criminal charges against Virgin Islands party official Gwen Brady. Lennox said: 

“The police informed me I was the victim of simple assault, but under pressure, due to her powerful post under the lieutenant governor, I accepted Ms. Brady’s word that would she apologize and go through an internal party process if I agreed not to pursue the matter. She lied and I notified police on Saturday evening that I intend to pursue this matter. I received written confirmation Monday evening from the chief of police that this is being dealt with. I have also retained legal counsel to pursue action against those making defamatory statements to shift attention away from Ms. Brady’s criminal acts.”

*****

 

The infusion of Michigan-style hardball politics on the Virgin Islands boiled over this past weekend when a fracas broke out at a Republican Party meeting and competing claims of assault were raised.

Dennis Lennox, a Michigan GOP activist, was reportedly hit in the head with his cell phone while trying to film a loud ruckus that broke out at the conclusion of the meeting. An ally of Michigan campaign strategist John Yob is accused of angrily grabbing Lennox’s phone and throwing it at his forehead. The woman who allegedly engaged in the attack claims she was subsequently thrown to the floor by a party official who is one of Lennox’s political allies.

Apparently no charges were filed by the VI cops but there is already talk of lawsuits as the two sides maintain decidedly different stories of what happened. One claim is that a person was struck with a laptop computer. Amid the pandemonium and shouting were complaints of “gestapo tactics.” And in the aftermath, past claims resurfaced that one of the feuding party people is a felon and a Nazi.

The meeting, a session of the Republican Territorial Committee of VI, was held at a St. Croix gun club.

Yob, who served as Rand Paul’s national political director, instigated much of this turmoil two months ago when he formed a slate of delegates that ran an aggressive campaign and won the VI presidential caucus in March, ousting several veteran GOP officials.

As a newcomer to the islands, Yob was initially declared ineligible to run as a delegate. Later, the Grand Rapids campaign consultant and his entire slate were disqualified based on party rules. The VI GOP chair certified an alternate delegation to the Republican national convention in July.

Yob has filed two lawsuits challenging the process – one pending – and the Credentials Committee at the national convention in Cleveland will decide which of the competing nine-member delegate slates is legitimate. Among the members of the Credentials Committee is Yob’s father, Chuck Yob, a longtime Michigan political operative.

Responding to Saturday’s ruckus, Yob told the Lansing-based MIRS news service: “It certainly devolved into chaos. Police were called and all sorts of crazy things. I’m just glad I wasn’t there.”

Lennox fits into this picture as a Ted Cruz campaign aide in 2015 who rounded up support for the Texas senator on the islands and in other U.S. territories. Though Lennox has now expressed support for Donald Trump, he was at the rowdy GOP meeting on Saturday as a parliamentarian for Chairman Canegata and the Republican Territorial Committee.

In a statement, the GOP committee said that the commotion began when a maverick group of Republicans tried to convene a “rump” meeting that violated party rules.

On the video that was filmed by Lennox, he can heard warning a party official, Gwen Brady:  “Touch me and I will have you arrested . . .and I will file an ethical complaint with the bar association for touching me.”

As Brady appears to lunge toward the cell phone the video goes black. The last sound that’s heard is a thump.