Two Native American women in Humboldt County are protesting a candidate for district attorney, accusing him of racism.

Ellie Bowman and Madison have been carrying signs and passing out flyers in front of the county courthouse. The say candidate Worth Dikeman is racist because he sought to remove Native Americans from a jury.

Court papers cited by The Eureka Report show that Dikeman referred to Native American jurors as "darker skinned" and described Native Americans as "resistive of the criminal justice system generally and somewhat suspicious of the system."

Dikeman has responded that he has been cleared of any racial bias by four courts. But he is also attacking Ellie Bowman, whose son was convicted of murder in a case he prosecuted.

Dikeman also claims the women are being backed by rival candidate Paul Gallegos. Dikeman says Gallegos has been found guilty of using race in jury selection.

Gallegos responded that it was a case where he tried to get more Native Americans on the jury. The attorney on the opposing side was Dikeman.

Humboldt County is 5.7 percent Native American.

Get the Story:
Second news release countering racism allegations issued (The Eureka Reporter 5/23)
Two protestors call Dikeman a "racist"; he disagrees (The Eureka Reporter 5/23)

Relevant Links:
Worth Dikeman - http://worthdikeman.org