Plenty of people get arrested every day, so what is the big deal about Larry Sinclair? Well Sinclair is one of those fringe elements in a campaign that makes ridiculous statements about one of the candidates and Sinclair has it out for Barack Obama. He has claimed that him and Obama did some scandalous stuff a while back so we all shouldn't vote for him. Unfortunately for Larry, the police had it out for him (with warrants) and arrested him since he's a wanted fugitive in Colorado. David Weigel of Reason Magazine was there to watch the scene unfold.
From Reason Magazine:
How did Sinclair hold up? Rather terribly. He started with a lengthy statement that admitted most (not all) of his crimes and dispatched Sibley to run around the room with a microphone. As Seth Colter Walls recounts, most of the questions were legalistic and (somewhat) credulous. Sinclair was asked who funded the event (donors, over the internet), how he made his living (he's on disability), and whether Obama was "well hung" (I'm not going to dignify his answer here). The only new "evidence" he presented was the name of a limo driver and the bar where he claimed to have met Obama (who, in Sinclair's story, used his real name and job title as he rendevouzed with a cruising criminal he'd never met before).
I only got to ask one question: What time of day did Sinclair meet with Obama on November 6th and November 7th? In Sinclair's story, Obama partied with him on the 6th and traveled to his hotel in Gurnee, IL (an hour and change from Hyde Park) on the 7th. Sinclair smiled at the question. "We met in the early evening of November 6th," he said. "As far as a specific time on November 7th, I can not provide that to you." He added, parenthetically: "And I know where this question is coming from?"
"You know where this question is coming from?"
"Thank you." Sinclair moved on and Sibley refused to let me ask another question. Why didn't I wait until the end of the press conference and rush up to the accuser? The second Sinclair stopped taking questions, he fled the room and reporters were denied access to anyone but Sibley. I was a little disappointed until I heard the reason. Larry Sinclair was arrested after the press conference and is being held by the Washington, D.C. metropolitan police. He's been charged as a fugitive from justice; one of his warrants can be seen here.
Justice caught up with Larry in a big way and will most likely put a nice lid on his mouth in the near future. Although he is regarded as a character of ill repute, in these days disparaging comments can spread like wildfire. Putting out that fire now is definitely a nice thing, so more of us can focus on the main event against McCain.
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