Kilpatrick backers compare him to MLK

DETROIT, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Supporters of jailed ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick are likening him to assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Twitter messages.

"Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States rightfully disobeyed the government," the Detroit Free Press reported the Twitter account @KwameAndFamily tweeted Sunday morning.

Kilpatrick, his father Bernard and three associates were indicted on corruption counts by a federal grand jury Wednesday. He is already in prison for violating his probation on perjury-related charges.

Kilpatrick spokesman Mike Paul confirmed the account's authenticity Monday and said it most likely is updated by a family member or close friend.

The Twitter account was launched along with a Facebook page and Web site to update the mayor's supporters, according to FriendsOfKwame.com.

On Dec. 11, the account tweeted, "Corruption is innate in government."

Hours after the indictment Wednesday, came the message: "We must obey God rather than men."

The following morning, it posted, "Moral responsibility may compel you to disobey the law."