By Brandon Scott
Staff Reporter
HUNTSVILLE —
Huntsville police interrupted a protest by members of the LaRouche Political Action Committee outside the post office on 10th Street on Tuesday after posters depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler prompted a confrontation with local residents.
Ian Overton, a LaRouche follower from Houston, said he believes Obama is turning America into a dictatorship because of the new “Super Congress,” a 12-member panel made up of six lawmakers from each chamber as well as each political party, that one is part of emergency debt legislation passed on Capitol Hill earlier this week.
The LaRouche movement is made up of followers of frequent presidential candidate and radical activist Lyndon LaRouche.
Overton said he also opposes cutting Medicare spending. He compared Obama to Hitler because the president is killing elderly people with recent policies.
The LaRouche followers asked people if they had heard about the new Super Congress and urged their help in an effort to impeach Obama.
But some members of the community took exception to an illustration of the president with a “Hitler-mustache” on protest posters.
Dr. Richard Watkins of Huntsville — Vietnam veteran and former prison warden — said he received numerous phone calls from people who had been offended by the posters.
Watkins, along with a few friends, approached the LaRouche followers with their concerns.
“I fought for this country so that people can believe whatever they want,” he said. “We only had a problem with the pictures. You draw the line at the commander-in-chief.”
Overton claimed Watkins and others attempted to rip flyers and disrupt their booth. Watkins said only one woman grabbed the actual poster, which was securely taped to the table.
Other citizens accused the LaRouche followers of being racists. But Overton claimed the issue was strictly about political policies.
“This is not about being a Republican or a Democrat. This is obviously not a race issue,” he said. “Being black has nothing to do with making policies.”
Eventually, the Huntsville Police Department arrived to the scene. Officers threatened to issue citations to both parties, but after speaking with the postmaster, decided instead that illustrations of Obama as Hitler had to be removed because of incitement.
“You could put up any sign you want that says ‘Impeach Obama’ or you disagree with his policies, but referencing the man to Hitler is obviously in the wrong,” Officer Chris Myers told Overton.
The LaRouche followers left the post office soon after speaking with police but also appeared at Tuesday’s City Council meeting delivering the same message.
