Al-Amin arraigned in Alabama on assault charges

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA - A former militant civil rights leader serving a life sentence without parole for killing a deputy sheriff in Atlanta was arraigned on charges stemming from his arrest more than two years ago in Lowndes County, Alabama. <br> <br> Jamil Al-Amin, the former Black Panther Party leader known in the 1960s as H. Rap Brown, wore chains on his legs when he appeared briefly in federal court in Montgomery Tuesday. He was arraigned on charges he fired shots at federal marshals when they attempted to arrest him in White Hall in Lowndes County. <br> <br> Al-Amin was convicted earlier this year of murder in the fatal shooting in Atlanta of Deputy Richard Kinchen and assault in the wounding of Deputy Aldranon English. <br> <br> Selma lawyer J.L. Chestnut represented Al-Amin at the hearing Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Charles Coody. He told the Montgomery Advertiser the charges in Alabama were apparently an attempt to add more years to Al-Amin&#39;s sentence. <br> <br> Chestnut said, ``It&#39;s the position of the federal government that if you shoot at one of their people, they will prosecute. He was accompanied at the hearing by Atlanta lawyer John Martin, who was Al-Amin&#39;s lead attorney at his murder trial. <br> <br> Chestnut said the federal government wants to gain a second conviction against Al-Amin in case he wins his appeal on the murder charge. <br> <br> The two-count arraignment against Al-Amin says he possessed a rifle and used it to assault Deputy U.S. Marshals Jerry Lowery, Joseph Parker and James Eargas as they attempted to arrest him in Lowndes County. <br> <br> Martin and assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Moorer told Coody they would be ready to try the case in the near future.

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