Hansen Calls Bryan A Murderer, Thief And Vindictive As Debate Over Her Candidacy Heats Up (Updated With Correction)

ST. CROIX — Alicia Hansen said at Gertrude’s Restaurant on Thursday during a press conference she held that Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes needed prayers. So too did St. Croix Board of Election members, because, according to Mrs. Hansen — whose birth name is Alden Alicia Pickering and is now embroiled in a battle reminiscent of the 2014 episode that ended with her being out of the Senate — Adelbert Bryan, who she considers an archenemy, has been manipulating board members into voting his interests, which she says is to assure that she is not on the ballot come November.

Petition documents — addressed to the St. Croix Board of Elections — provided to the media at Mrs. Hansen’s press conference, shows that the former senator has filed a motion in court to recuse Mr. Bryan from any proceedings regarding her, because of what the documents say are “longstanding animosity and bias” against Mrs. Hansen.

“Adelbert Bryan has developed a longstanding bias against Senator Hansen as a result of her repeatedly pointing out to the public his history of illegal acts and receiving special treatment to escape prosecution,” reads the document. “While this has been ongoing, it includes bringing to the court’s attention the fact that he looted businesses and stole merchandise after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and the fact that he shot his neighbor’s cattle as a result of vindictiveness.”

It adds: “However, the major source of his bias is his knowledge that Senator Hansen is in possession of FBI reports that establish that Bryan, a former police officer, shot and killed his son with an illegal weapon stolen from the police department and then covered up that crime by having his friend, then-Police Commissioner Ramon Davilla, back-date a gun permit for the weapon.”

Mrs. Hansen also provided the media with the FBI report in which Mr. Davila was charged with violation of USVI weapon laws, with the federal government alleging that, “a source of information who identified himself as “Larry,” contacted the Office of Internal Affairs,” and alleged that Mr. Davilla participated in a cover-up during the homicide investigation against Mr. Bryan. These documents were issued in 1997, indicating that the charges were levied that same year. The shooting death of Mr. Bryan’s son, Adelbert “Pell” Bryan, occurred in 1996. Mr. Bryan lost a second son, Kaunda Bryan, to gun violence in 2001.

To be fair, Mr. Bryan has argued harder than any other Board of Elections member that Mrs. Hansen’s candidacy is illegal, and he led an effort that ended with her ouster during the 2014 General Election.

But the former senator says his actions are not connected to any perceived vendetta; his only concern, he said, is the rule of law in the territory, which he contends Mrs. Hansen has not followed over her decadeslong career.

Correction: September 3, 2016

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Mrs. Hansen had filed suit to have Mr. Bryan be recused from matters involving her. Mrs. Hansen petitioned the St. Croix Board of Elections and did not file suit in court. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information.