Attorney General Eric Holder donned a yellow ribbon and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives badge at a national law enforcement conference Tuesday to show support for an ATF special agent on trial for murder in the Virgin Islands.
Eric Holder (ATF)
Holder wore the items to express solidarity with Special Agent William G. Clark at the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference after he met with ATF Deputy Director Kenneth Melson, who leads the agency, and Executive Assistant Director William J. Hoover, the agency’s no. 2 official, according to the ATF’s website.
A DOJ spokeswoman did not have an immediate comment for Main Justice.
The ATF cleared Clark of wrongdoing after an internal inquiry into the 2008 shooting of Marcus Sukow. Clark claims he shot Sukow in self-defense during a domestic dispute between the man and his girlfriend. But the Virgin Islands is pursuing murder charges against Clark; his trial began Monday. (Read our four-part series on the case here.)
The Attorney General is the latest member of the DOJ and law enforcement communities to show support for Clark.
Melson made a brief appearance earlier this month before the start of a D.C. rally that paid tribute to the ATF agent. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents 25,000 officers, including ATF agents, and the FBI Agents Association, which includes about 12,000 current and former agents, also have expressed support for Clark. (Read our story on FBI Agents Association here.)
The website Ticklethewire.com first reported on Holder’s ribbon.
