ELIAN GONZALEZ UPDATE
Despite earlier denials of any such incident, the INS is now investigating claims that members of the team that raided the house of Lazaro Gonzalez used physical force against an NBC camera crew filming there. The cameraman claimed that he was maced, shoved to the floor, kicked in the stomach and told to not move or he would be shot. The soundman, who was outside the house, said he was hit in the head with the butt of a gun and held at gunpoint for the duration of the raid. The cameraman was hospitalized for back pain after the alleged incident. ********* In related news, the fisherman who found Elian at sea, Donato Dalrymple, who was holding Elian during the raid and was pictured in the now infamous photograph of an agent pointing a gun at Elian, has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Janet Reno, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and INS Commissioner Doris Meissner. The complaint alleges that Dalrymple’s constitutional rights and his right to privacy were violated during the raid. He is seeking damages of 0 million. The conservative legal group Judicial Watch is funding the suit. ********* There is widespread disagreement on the methods used by INS agents to reunite Elian with his father, but there is growing evidence, according to the government, that a violent reaction to the agents was possible. On the night before the raid, the INS and Miami police took into custody two men with criminal convictions, including burglary, theft, and carrying concealed weapons. The men had been part of a group of people staying at the house next door to Lazaro Gonzalez’ house. According to Miami police, others in the group also had violent criminal histories. This, the INS says, was a large factor in the decision to use force. ********* Lazaro Gonzalez and his family are moving out of the house where Elian stayed with them, saying that since the raid they have felt unhappy in the house. They will be moving to another area in Miami. Also, Elian and his Cuban family are moving from the Wye River Plantation in Maryland, where they have stayed since the raid, to a home in Washington, D.C. ********* Area police chiefs have requested that the Eleventh Circuit give them 12 hours notice before releasing their ruling in the case. They say that this will give them time to prepare for any protests. Even if they do not receive this much warning, a US Marshal in Miami will be notified of the ruling several hours in advance of its release to the public. He will notify Miami police, so there should be an opportunity to prepare for any disturbances. ********* According to records obtained by the Miami Herald, the rescue of Elian and the two other survivors may not have occurred as initially reported. According to a report by a Coast Guard doctor made when he first examined Elian, he had been in the water for less than 24 hours, not for more than 50 hours as has been claimed. 
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