An anti-land claim group is publicizing controversial comments it alleges the attorney for the Cayuga Indian Nation made in August.

Upstate Citizens for Equality filed a grievance with the New York State Bar Association over words Syracuse attorney Daniel French used in a state building hallway. The association would not take action on the grievance because of jurisdiction, but the UCE issued a press release with its version of events this week.

Nation officials promised to buy as much of their 64,000-acre historic homeland as possible and take the land into tax-exempt federal trust in lieu of a deal that Seneca and Cayuga County lawmakers rejected. During a break from an August meeting between county officials and an aide of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, French was discussing that intention with a reporter, the UCE said.

UCE supporter John Rancier interrupted the conversation, arguing the nation had given up its land long ago and couldn't reclaim it now. When French said the tribe would buy it, Rancier replied his wasn't for sale.

“Then we will burn crosses on your property,” French countered, according to UCE.

The complaint was not handled by the state bar association grievance committee, which generally deals with attorney-client issues, according to the UCE release.

French shrugged off the accusations Monday.

“As most responsible people who have encountered the UCE have experienced, this group's views and conduct add little and are simply not worthy of response from anyone who is working conscientiously toward a resolution of these matters,” he said via e-mail.