American Notes JUSTICE

The followers of Political Extremist Lyndon LaRouche are usually found in airports distributing literature, but increasingly they are finding themselves in court as well. A federal grand jury in Boston has charged several supporters of the ultraconservative conspiracy theorist with credit-card fraud. Last week a grand jury in Loudoun County, Va., indicted 16 supporters and five groups affiliated with LaRouche, a perennial presidential candidate who lives on an estate in the county. Within hours, police teams had arrested 13 people on charges of selling unregistered securities. According to the prosecution, the groups persuaded people to lend money to the LaRouche cause by offering interest rates as high as 20%, and many of the loans were never repaid. "Lyndon LaRouche," said Dana Scanlon, one of his spokesmen, "views this as the first dirty trick of the 1988 campaign."