In the current issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD, I have an article that goes through the blow by blow of the strange battle over the Virgin Islands delegation to the Republican convention. I encourage you to read the article, but without glossing over too many details, six delegates were initially elected in the VIGOP caucus on March 10 that were unaffiliated with any presidential campaign.
The slate of delegates was led by Republican political operative and brand new Virgin Islands resident John Yob. Since then, John Canegata, the chairman of the VIGOP, has declared those delegates ineligible according to party rules, and has tried to replace them with alternates. This may seem like a minor kerfuffle from afar, but with the very real possibility of a brokered national GOP convention in Cleveland, the votes of six delegates could prove surprisingly consequential. Further, this is happening against the backdrop of some intense disputes within the VIGOP, which is also at the center of some lucrative Republican fundraising deals.
Since the story appeared online last week, there have been two significant developments. On Friday, April 15, Yob and Holland Redfield, the Virgin Islands Republican national committeeman, filed a lawsuit asking for a restraining order "to prevent (Canegata) from subverting the democratic process and from disenfranchising Republican voters" by replacing their elected slate with alternate delegates. Canegata responded to the suit with the following statement: "This frivolous lawsuit, which was leaked to journalists in Washington before it was even served, is nothing more than an act of desperation by the same people who failed to follow basic rules and even swore false oaths in their attempt to cause, in their own words, chaos at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland."
Then the next day on April 16, Herbert L. Schoenbohm, who has long been involved the Virgin Islands Republican party, posted audio of a VIGOP meeting. Schoenbohm's description of the meeting is as follows ([sic] throughout):
This meeting was an attempt by the VI State Chairman to put on the Territorial Committee his appointees. but we the votes and many proxy votes he saw were against him he refused to allow for any debate or even a vote and bang his gavel, which consisted of a large artillery shell, declaring his resolution had passed. he ignore a recorded vote nor allowed any points of order. The meeting ended in violence against a female senior citizen delegate that was thrown to the ground and badly roughed up. She was clearly the victim and the police were called and took statements. The chairman was armed with a pistol and ordered everyone out of his property which is a shooting gallery many members were horrified at the "gestapo tactics used by the chairman. This is a recording of what took place The violence erupts at the end of the meeting which is on this recording as well.
Simply listening to the audio makes it hard to verify whether that description of what happened is entirely accurate, but if you listen, at around 18 minutes, Canegata attempts to adjourn the meeting with a voice vote. This causes the room to erupt in anger over why he won't take a recorded vote and there are cries that Canegata isn't following procedure. Chaos ensues, the meeting breaks up, and later, an older woman named Gwen -- presumably Gwen Brady, who is on Yob's delegate slate -- is heard talking with others about how she was physically accosted.
Anyway, what's going on in the Virgin Islands is a serious contender for the strangest story in an election season already overflowing with very strange developments. And it doesn't look like the situation is going to be resolved anytime soon.
UPDATE: VIGOP Chairman John Canegata has authored a memo that attempts to explain his side of what happened at Saturday's chaotic meeting.