A Mt. Pleasant Borough report that last week’s controversial politically-themed entry in the community Halloween parade fell short of a hate crime was not based on a legal opinion provided by the state attorney general’s staff, according to a spokesman for that state office.
Borough Solicitor Les Mlakar said at Monday’s council meeting that Mt. Pleasant Police Chief George Grippo was told by an assistant attorney general that the parade entry apparently depicting Democratic Vice President and recent presidential candidate Kamala Harris handcuffed and tethered to a golf cart involved “no crime, no hate crimes.”
But, TribLive later was informed by Brett Hambright, press secretary for the attorney general: “There was no official referral of this matter, no legal analysis conducted, and no assistant state attorney general was ever consulted.
“The Mt. Pleasant Borough police Chief spoke, briefly and informally, to an Office of Attorney General narcotics agent regarding this matter on Monday. The Office of Attorney General does not have jurisdiction over hate crimes.”
Grippo had no comment when asked Thursday about the discrepancy between Mlakar’s and Hambright’s accounts of the conversation about the Halloween parade entry. Parade video was sent to the borough police department, but Grippo has not commented publicly on the matter.
At Mlakar’s suggestion, the solicitor said, Grippo reached out to the attorney general’s field office in North Huntingdon about the parade entry.
According to Mlakar, Grippo believed he was speaking to an assistant attorney general at the field office. But, Hambright said the narcotics agent noted his role with the office during the conversation.
“It sounds like it was miscommunication, period,” Mlakar said.
Mlakar said he plans to provide a clarification at an upcoming public meeting.
The Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP denounced the parade entry as a symbol of racism and hatred.
Mt. Pleasant Mayor Diane Bailey, a Democrat, has called the display disturbing and upsetting.
The parade entry featured a person wearing a Donald Trump mask and others apparently meant to depict Secret Service agents. The cart displayed a sign in support of Trump, who since was elected to a second term as president.
Photos of the display posted on social media showed what looked like a long gun sitting on a tripod on top of the roof of the golf cart.
Mlakar has stressed that the parade was organized by the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department, noting the borough wasn’t involved in the event.
On its website, the borough posted: “To say that the display was appalling and caused concern not only to the residents of the Borough of Mt. Pleasant and the dedicated volunteer members of the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department is an understatement. Please know that this type of display is not condoned or acceptable by the Borough of Mount Pleasant and the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department now or ever.”
The fire department stated on its Facebook page: “We do not share in the values represented by those participants, and we understand how it may have hurt or offended members of our community,” adding, “We are committed to learning from this experience and ensuring that our future events celebrate the diversity and spirit of our community in a positive way.”
Fire department officials said they did not have a process in place for vetting parade entries, but President Richard Pologruto said Thursday firefighters are working on developing a system.
As for identifying the participants in the controversial Halloween entry, he said, “There’s no clue yet.”
Bailey said masks and sunglasses worn by the participants in the parade entry has made identification difficult.