Chapter 828: First Visit to Southern State
“So, did they take the live photos with flip phones?” Aubrey made a nasty mockery, which comes from the unique superiority of big cities over small rural places. feel.
The difference in pixels between the photos on the screen made people feel like they were back in the last century. Alice tried to adjust the overexposed faces of the three deceased people, but with little success.
Jubal also shrugged helplessly. Sheriff's offices in small places have limited resources. In the eyes of old Americans, Arkansas is a remote and remote place with no sense of existence. It is not even as famous as it was on the Chinese Internet in Jack's previous life.
At least on one small website, the number of views of a video of a road stop by the Arkansas State Police is close to the total population of the state (less than 3 million).
Of course, if we talk about Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, some black people in the United States who have experienced "unhappy education" should have some impressions.
On September 24, 1957, the then US President Eisenhower issued a military order and dispatched 8 transport planes to airlift the 327th Combat Group of the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock and escort 9 black students to school. Called the "Little Rock Incident."
In the eyes of black Americans, this was a landmark event that opened a gap in the apartheid system at that time, but for the federal government at the time, it had another meaning.
As we all know, the United States is a federal country, and the National Guard in each state usually accepts the dual leadership of the state government and the federal government.
At that time, the four traditional southern states, including Arkansas and Alabama, were extremely traditional, and the one who prevented black students from going to school was Arkansas, which at that time, on the order of the governor, blocked the school in the name of protecting public safety. State National Guard.
At this time, shortly after the end of World War II, black people were bleeding and weeping on the battlefield. In addition, during the Cold War, the United States faced various morally condescending oppressions from another superpower, Aso, whether it was workers or race. We are all feeling the pressure on civil rights issues.
Pressure will naturally produce changes. In order to ease domestic conflicts, the federal government had to start to relax on civil rights issues. At that time, the Federal Supreme Court took the lead in declaring racial segregation illegal in public education.
This naturally met with spontaneous resistance from these conservative states in the South, resulting in the National Guard blocking black students from entering schools.
President Eisenhower, who was a soldier at that time, naturally could not allow local governments to challenge the authority of the central government, and directly announced that he had taken over the command of the Arkansas National Guard. This act of federal resumption of local National Guards was called "Federalization".
In fact, conflicts between the federal government and local states often occur. In Jack’s previous life, the equally restless Texas next door to Arkansas has been in constant friction with the federal government over immigration issues since entering the new century, and finally mobilized The National Guard blocked the US-Mexico border.
That time was also threatened by the federal government's attempt to "federalize" the Texas National Guard. Combined with a later movie called "Civil War", it was highly hyped until someone inherited the spicy crispy tradition. The big news coming out of the country one after another has overshadowed the popularity.
Getting back to the subject, although Arkansas has 75 counties and St. Francis County, where Forrest is located, has a population of only tens of thousands, it is indeed true that the entire District Attorney’s Office has been taken over by one person. No matter how big or small, it’s no wonder that the local Sheriff’s Office directly requested help from the FBI.
Jubal continued to press the remote control, played the blurry photos of the scene from beginning to end, and then looked at the crowd, "The shooting happened outside a pool bar. The owner said there were three victims. The reporter left around three o'clock in the morning, just before closing time.
Not long after, he heard gunshots outside. There were no witnesses at the scene, but I heard that a surveillance camera captured the scene. The video hasn’t been sent yet, so we may need to go there and deal with it in person.”
Although the photo is a bit blurry, it can still be seen clearly that all three victims were shot several times, and it can be said that they were beaten into pieces. A typical act of vendetta.
"It doesn't look like it was done by professionals, it's a bit too rough." Clay shrugged and expressed his opinion from a professional perspective. Aubrey analyzed it from a psychological perspective, "It was full of anger. It didn't look like random killings. The target was very clear, and it was directed at these three lawyers."
Alice The files of three deceased persons were directly retrieved from the system, two men and one woman, all white, and all looked very young, "Catherine Sloan, 26 years old, Pete Hill, 29 years old, Johnny Mo , 28 years old."
Jiejie asked, "So, the only one who survived is the district attorney himself?"
"Skip Hardy, 52 years old." Alice brought up a picture of a black man on the screen.
"It's interesting that in this conservative southern state where more than 70% of the people are white, the district attorney is actually a black man." Jack said what everyone was thinking.
“Although there is indeed a die-hard vote base for the Elephant Party, after all, today is no longer the past. The Donkey Party also has considerable power in Arkansas today. Don’t forget that a famous presidential couple came from there. "
Jubal is naturally talking about the Zipperton couple. Although Arkansas does not have much presence in the old United States, it has produced two famous figures in history.
One is I particularly like the five-star general McHather who commented on various things on the Chinese Internet in Jack's previous life. The other one is Jack's idol in some aspects, His Excellency President Zipperton.
Coincidentally, the governor of Arkansas who triggered the "Little Rock Incident" was also a Donkey Party. The Donkey Party (Democratic Party) and the Elephant Party (Republican Party) at that time were exactly the opposite of what they are today. The Donkey Party The Xiang Party tends to be conservative, while the Xiang Party tends to be radical.
Nowadays, everyone in the wanted group is getting closer and more like a family. They have less worries about talking behind closed doors, and it doesn't hurt to talk about politics occasionally.
The business jet prepared by the FBI's New York office for the wanted criminal team is a Cessna CJ2, which is nearly half the size of the BAU's Gulfstream G650 and focuses on cost-effectiveness.
Although it is a little shabby, it is still a chartered flight anyway, which also strengthens the determination of everyone in the group to work hard. After all, it is not easy for such a small plane to fit 7 people. What about setting up a mahjong table? No need to think about it at all.
Jubal stepped off the plane, twisted his sore waist with difficulty, and began to order his troops, "Jiejie and I are going to visit the surviving prosecutor Skip Hardy. Everyone goes to the scene to look for any possible clues.
Carefully investigate witnesses, surveillance videos, and the background of the victim. We are still unable to determine whether the murderer will continue his killing, so pay attention to safety."
Jack also reminded in turn, "If you rule out prosecutor Skip Hardy as a suspect, you should also ask him to pay attention to the security around him. He is likely to be the next target."
"I will It is recommended that he stay in the court as much as possible." Jubal nodded in understanding.
Then everyone split up and the FBI Little Rock office sent three official vehicles, an old GMC pickup truck and two GMC "Business Star" SUVs that were also old.
Jack and Clay loaded all the equipment they brought into the pickup truck, and drove the pickup truck and a "Business Star" to the pool bar where the accident occurred.
(End of this chapter)