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Political Spin
At the core of the suit is Cynthia Tucker, the Black editor of the AJC's editorial page, who
has for years been incapable of uttering McKinney's name without sneering. Tucker, the corporate owners' Black pit bull, depicted
McKinney's March, 2006, encounter with a Capitol Hill policeman as an unprovoked assault, pure and simple. "She slugged
him with her telephone," wrote Tucker, in a column that appeared barely a week before McKinney faced challenger Hank
Johnson, the favorite of most whites and the corporate establishment, in a Democratic primary runoff. Tucker "tried to spin
this incident into a felony," said McKinney, in her suit. "This false and libelous allegation is not supported by any witness
or other evidence." McKinney was never indicted for any crime, and says the incident was the result of racial and political
harassment by the Capitol Police.
Apology on House floor for punching Capitol Police officer On the morning of March 29, 2006, McKinney
entered the House Office Building and proceeded past the security checkpoint, walking around the metal detector. Members of
Congress have identifying lapel pins & are not required to pass through metal detectors The officers present failed to
recognize McKinney as a member of Congress because she was not wearing the appropriate lapel pin. She was grabbed by US Capitol
Police officer Paul McKenna, who states that he had been calling after her: "Ma'am, Ma'am!" Two days later, Officer McKenna
filed a police report claiming that McKinney had struck "his chest with a closed fist."
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