Protesters disrupt press conference on racial justice

A press conference about racial injustice turned ugly Wednesday when a small group of protesters, including a white supremacist, disrupted the event with shouts about "black criminals."

The meeting was sponsored by a group of Cincinnati ministers who said they want to use the All-Star Game spotlight to speak out about the criminal justice system and the recent deaths of black men in police custody.

It quickly degenerated, however, into a series of shouting matches, with the ministers struggling to be heard over the half-dozen protesters.

At one point, a frustrated Bobby Hilton, leader of Word Deliverance Ministries in Forest Park, urged the protesters to leave if they couldn't talk about the issues without yelling.

"If you can't have an intelligent conversation, move on," Hilton said. "Let's come together. Can we come together?"

"Not at all," replied Robert Ransdell, who did most of the shouting.

Ransdell is a former candidate for senate in Kentucky and a member of the National Alliance, a group the Anti-Defamation League identifies as a white supremacist organization. "How many decades are we going to accommodate the behavior of black criminals?" he shouted as Hilton and the others tried to speak.

Other protesters carried signs that read, "Diversity means chasing down the last white person, #whitegenocide."

Chris Beard, pastor of Peoples Church in Cincinnati, said the disruptions were as disappointing as they were frustrating. "We have to be able to talk about race in this country," he said. "We have to talk about it."

The Rev. Damon Lynch III compared the protesters to segregationists who tried to stop the civil rights movement decades ago.

"What we saw today is nothing new," Lynch said. "It's what we've seen in the civil rights movement from the beginning: Angry white people espousing their views, trying to stop us from moving forward."

When they did get a chance to speak, the ministers called on Major League Baseball to use the spotlight of the All-Star Game in Cincinnati to take a stand against policies and practices that disrespect African-Americans. They cited recent police misconduct accusations in Baltimore, Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri, as well as the continuing prosecution of former Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter in Cincinnati.

Hunter is facing a second felony trial on charges of forgery, tampering with evidence and theft in office. The jury in her first trial convicted her on one felony count, but was unable to reach a verdict on the others.

While prosecutors say Hunter abused her power as a judge, her supporters say she was targeted because she's an African-American.

Hilton and others vowed in March to use the All-Star Game spotlight to draw attention to the Hunter case and other racial issues.

"The nation is going to hear about this," Hilton said in March.

On Wednesday, Hilton said he is not demanding a boycott of the All-Star Game, but he and the other ministers said they want Major League Baseball to speak out about racial injustice.

"We're asking Major League Baseball to stand with us," Hilton said.

MLB did not respond to a request for comment.