Moderators: Alyrium Denryle, Edi, K. A. Pital
Here we go again.(Reuters) - A gunman fired through a glass door at a newspaper in the Maryland capital of Annapolis and sprayed the newsroom with bullets on Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring several others, news reports said.
The suspect has been apprehended and not motive is known for the attack at the Capital Gazette newspaper, local news reports said.
Sometimes I feel like America is in a civil war right now- just one where there aren't really sides or armies, just an endless parade of nuts and assholes with easy access to guns.
Oh, the USA is already in the midst of a civil war and has been for some time, but that's more of a discussion in the US poltics threads.The Romulan Republic wrote: ↑2018-06-28 04:38pmSometimes I feel like America is in a civil war right now- just one where there aren't really sides or armies, just an endless parade of nuts and assholes with easy access to guns.
Think of it as a cold war that hasn't gone hot yet and that's about where we are these days.The Romulan Republic wrote: ↑2018-06-28 05:16pm Well, not really. It feels that way, sometimes, but I'm well aware that a full-scale civil war would kill far more people, far more quickly.
Milo wants vigilantes to start killing journalists, and he's not being 'ironic'
June 27, 2018
David Neiwert
The far-right provocateur tells reporters he hopes angry conservatives start assassinating them, and the alt-right '14/88ers' love the idea.
Apparently, Milo Yiannopoulos didn’t get the memo about the need for civility in our discourse.
“I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight,” the far-right provocateur texted a reporter for the New York Observer this week. When the reporter inquired further, Yiannopoulos explained that he had simply issued his “standard response to a request for a comment.”
But this wasn’t simply a toss-off remark. Yiannopoulos appears to be dead serious – that is, he sincerely believes that right-wing assassins should begin taking out targeted reporters. He’s been saying so on a number of forums, and it’s clear that he isn’t being simply “ironic” in the classic alt-right hall-of-mirrors fashion.
Yiannopoulos’ career has been in precipitous decline over the past year, following his sudden rise to media stardom as a leading figure in the alt-right, due largely to his influential role during the “Gamergate” controversy, then as an editor at Breitbart News. However, after an interview surfaced in February 2017 which he suggested sexual relations between adult men and young boys could be beneficial, he lost his sponsorship by the Mercer family, was dropped by his publisher, and resigned his position at Breitbart. Then in October, his close dalliances with white nationalists while at Breitbart (including an evening of karaoke with Richard Spencer) were exposed by Buzzfeed.
Since then, Yiannopoulos has tried to keep his career as an “alt-lite” pundit afloat through a number of ventures, even as his social media profile has risen and fallen. A speech in Arizona was shut down, ostensibly over death threats, causing his followers to plot revenge against his critics. He was also invited to speak to an audience of far-right anti-immigrant activists in Hungary in May 2018. He has spoken at a handful of campuses, including at Cal Poly in April, and also toured Australia in late 2017.
He’s also edged closer to making “ironic” signals in the direction of the racist alt-right, notably by donating $14.88 – an amount identical to the numbers used to signal the overt neo-Nazi faction of the alt-right – to a Jewish journalist who had pleaded for financial help in an online fundraiser.
His most recent venture has involved participating in a “soft coup” in his native England, a takeover of Nigel Farage’s floundering right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) by members of the “alt-lite” brigade. Along with Infowars reporter Paul Joseph Watson, YouTube personality “Count Dankula” (real name: Mark Meechan), and Carl Benjamin, aka “Sargon of Akkad,” another YouTube personality, the faction wants to “Make Britain Great Again” by taking over the UKIP leadership and making the party a safe space for the like-minded.
When Guardian reporter Will Sommer asked Yiannopoulos about his decision to join UKIP, he responded by email that he “can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight!”
Since then, he has doubled down on his call for violence against journalists. On Instagram, he responded to a similar query from Mediaite reporter Amy Russo with a post that has since been removed.
“If journalists keep lying, deceiving and manipulating the public, then they will reap the same hatred they are sowing against Trump and his voters,” he wrote. “Truthfully I take no pleasure in the prospect; I’d rather beat you in a debate hall than a wrestling ring. But you did this to yourselves, and you deserve what’s coming.”
In a comment, he added: “Is it malevolence, or stupidity? Sometimes it can be hard to tell.”
Andrew Anglin, the neo-Nazi editor of the Daily Stormer, was especially pleased. He wrote that “killing journalists is an awesome position to promote,” and that doing so might successfully rebrand Yiannopoulos: “Now that is a sentiment I can get behind.”
Anglin noted that the idea may have come from a June 2017 Los Angeles Times piece quoting “comedian” Sam Hyde, who had contributed money to the Daily Stormer and explained it in a phone interview: “Don't worry so much about money. Worry about if people start deciding to kill reporters. That's a quote. … For the reason why, you can say I want reporters to know I make more money than them, especially Matt Pearce [the reporter on the piece].”
“Sam was cleverer, as MILO’s statement could be construed as a threat,” Anglin wrote. “But who cares? Definitely not my problem. And it’s funny.”
“Anyway, whatever – anyone calling for journalists to be killed is good,” he concluded.
Violence has accompanied Yiannopoulos at a number of steps in his career, notably during his 2016-2017 “Dangerous Faggot” speaking tour. At the University of Washington in Seattle on the night of January 20, 2017 – the evening of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president – a man involved in protests outside a Milo speech was shot by a couple of angry alt-right activists; they are both still awaiting trial. A speech in Berkeley shortly afterward was canceled due to threats of violence from both sides, provoking threats from Trump on his Twitter account. Yiannopoulos later vowed to organize a “free speech week” protest in Berkeley, but it later devolved into a single brief appearance by the provocateur in the college town.
Because he hasn't offered sufficiently specific guidance to make Conspiracy to Murder stick, presumably.The Romulan Republic wrote: ↑2018-06-28 08:20pmWithout making any assumptions about the motives of the shooter here:
WHY IS YIANNOPOULOS NOT IN JAIL?
Are you arguing that this "narrative" is false- that he was motivated by politics, and by Yiannopoulos's words? If so, on what evidence do you base that argument?U.P. Cinnabar wrote: ↑2018-06-29 10:20am Which is the reason Yappi Dog is not locked up, because all sides on this, including law enforcrment are running with the "crazy lone wolf" narrative, thus no provable link between Yanniopoulos' words and Ramos' actions.
Yes, but how broad do you want to make the standard of evidence? If, for example, someone on this board say I should have the shit kicked out of me, and some random lurker tries to do just that, how do you determine the original poster's state of mind when he/She posted that, i.e., whether or no s/he was joking, or just venting, or whether we kissed and made up in PM or private email, etc.?Rommie wrote:Note that I am increasingly coming 'round to the view that the existing US definition of incitement of violence is too narrow, and should be broadened to allow for the arrest of people like Yiannopoulos, who persistently and publicly condone or promote the murder of their opponents.
Where's your fucking humanityIt's so sad, that there are so many sick, demented and evil people in this world. It really is sad," Hannity continued. "You know, imagine you go to work and this is what you're dealing with today. Some crazy person comes in."
"And I'm not turning this into a gun debate, I know that's where the media will be in 30 seconds from now," Hannity said. "That's not it. You know, as I've always said, I mean honestly - I've been saying now for days that something horrible was going to happen because of the rhetoric," he said.
Hannity then mentioned Waters, who over the weekend said people should confront Trump administration officials in restaurants, service stations and shopping malls when they see them in public.
"Really Maxine?" he asked. "You want people to create - 'call your friends, get in their faces,' and Obama said that, too. 'Get in their faces, call them out, call your friends, get protesters, follow them into restaurants and shopping malls,' and wherever else she said."
During the show, Hannity also spoke with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a top Trump ally, who said he is involved with efforts to convince House leaders to censure Waters over her comments.
Later in the show, Hannity said he did not want to directly link the country's "incendiary rhetoric" to the shooting. "Things are getting way-way too hot and out of control," he said.
Weapon in question:The crazy dude reconnected with a female high school classmate which turned into serious stalking.
A reporter with the newspaper wrote an article in a local newspaper about this.
He was brought up on criminal harassment charges and pleaded guilty.
Dude in question went full batshit crazy and started harassing the paper's staff, sued them for defamation and lost, went crazy about the judge, too.
Basically made a hit list on twitter, branding images with a sacrifice symbol.
Finally shot up the newspaper with a shottie.
In Maryland it's basically I believeZaune wrote: ↑2018-07-02 04:46am Honest question: What exactly do you have to do in the state of Maryland to fail a background check for a firearm purchase? Because even if he was let off relatively lightly, with probation and court-mandated psychiatric treatment, the guy had a recent conviction for harrassment and had just lost a rather expensive lawsuit directly related to said conviction.
I'm honestly surprised the restraining order was temporary. If I'd been on the receiving end of that sort of thing I'd be applying for a lifetime one if local law allowed it.MKSheppard wrote: ↑2018-07-04 09:10amLooking him up on MD Case search, it looks like he had a temporary restraining order issued against him....in 2014, so even the new MD gun control "GVRO" fad passed in the last round of gun control here would have done jack and shit, unless you want to keep a restraining order in place for four years.
