Activist paid homeless people to rally

You know you're desperate when you pay others to participate in a protest!

Activist paid homeless people to rally
at 10:57 on October 21, 2005, EST.

ATLANTA (AP) - An activist who opposes illegal immigration acknowledged he paid more than a dozen homeless people $10 each to hold signs during a rally earlier this week, but said they agreed with his message.

D.A. King, who spoke at the rally, said Wednesday that he paid "14 willing American workers to let their voices be heard about illegal immigration."

The people he hired are homeless and regularly congregate near the Capitol, King said.

"Trust me, they are angry," King said. "When the day comes when I cannot pay an American for an hour's worth of work for making their voices heard, it's a sad day," he said.

The rally at the state Capitol was broadcast live on a local radio station and was designed to build support for passage next year of legislation that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants.

King Mitchell, 28, said he was paid $10 to hold a placard but also agrees with efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Legislation blocking taxpayer-funded benefits to those who are not citizens is pending in the state Senate and has been designated a top priority of Senate Republican leaders for the 2006 session, which begins in January.

State Sen. Sam Zamarripa, a Democrat who opposes the legislation, criticized the use of paid rally participants.

"This is too complicated an issue. We don't need people to pay people to agree with them," Zamarripa said. "We need cool heads and moderate voices."

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