He's represented people who didn't have a voice on everything from racial profiling, in-custody deaths, to wrongful arrests.
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In recent years, complaints have been made by those who paid him to make their cases and complaints public, by generating publicity and bringing attention to their causes. Among the complaints voiced, is that some people didn't get what they paid for.
Nate Lewis was among them.
Lewis said he paid Quanell X $2,000 to bring attention to what he called a wrongful termination from his job.
"He said, 'I need this amount of money to get the ball rolling.' I pretty much never heard from him again," Lewis said Wednesday.
Lewis said he filed a lawsuit in small claims court.
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"That's when I got his attention," he said. "I got my money back. He had no choice -- either let the judge look at the evidence I had, or give me my money, which is nothing I wanted to go through."
By phone, Quanell X said he had no comment, except to say, "I will never be seen fighting with my own people publicly."
The People's New Black Panther Party planned a news conference Thursday.
"We all looked to the brother and the qualities he possessed and the position he was in and the work he had done," said the group's national chairman, Yahcanon Ben-Yak. "It's very disappointing to be here. We shouldn't be here."