Summary

Patrick Thomas Egan, 39, was arrested in Colorado for allegedly attacking TV reporter Ja’Ronn Alex, demanding to know if Alex was a U.S. citizen and declaring, “This is Trump’s America now.”

Police say Egan followed Alex’s vehicle for 40 miles, confronted him at his news station, and tackled him, putting him in a headlock that left Alex struggling to breathe.

The attack is being investigated as a possible bias-motivated crime.

Egan faces charges of assault and harassment, with prosecutors yet to file formal charges.

  • leadore@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Wait, I think I’ve figured it out! All minorities need to get jobs at health insurance companies ASAP! That way any magats who threaten or attack you will be prosecuted as terrorists going after the health insurance companies.

  • BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    But a woman who got mad for having a claim for health care coverage THAT SHE PAYS FOR and saying something in anger, well that’s a big problem, but stalking someone for 40 miles and strangling them is cool, right conservatives?

  • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    “Trump voters are terrorists” doesn’t have to be true. It would be great for it not to make sense to say, but that’s not up to me.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    They used to be called “hate crimes”. Why are we soft peddling violent racism like this

  • peregrin5@lemm.ee
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    12 hours ago

    Buy (or 3d print) a gun for your own safety if you are a minority.

  • Noite_Etion@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    Alex, who had been out reporting, then drove back to his news station in the city. After he got out of his vehicle, Egan chased Alex as he ran toward the station’s door and demanded to see his identification, according to the document laying out police’s evidence in the case. Egan then tackled Alex, put him in a headlock and “began to strangle him,” the affidavit said.

    He followed him, chased him down and proceeded to strangle him, and they still needed to determine if this was a “bias-motivated crime”.

    • sleepdrifter@startrek.website
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      13 hours ago

      Egan, who was driving a taxi, pulled up next to Alex at a stoplight and, according to an arrest affidavit, said something to the effect of: “Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!”

      Yeah still too early to tell isn’t it

    • Skvlp@lemm.ee
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      16 hours ago

      He said it - “it’s Trumps USA now”. Get ready for a whole lot of fecal matter hitting the air circulation device…

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      12 hours ago

      and they still needed to determine if this was a “bias-motivated crime”.

      As is always the case, police need to be as neutral as possible in their public statements so they don’t accidentally cause a mistrial by saying something that could be perceived as bias.

      By not calling the guy out as a racist piece of shit, they’re making sure the judge won’t be forced to dismiss the case.

    • Xbeam@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      This should be a thing. Every time something horrific happens it needs to be labeled as “Trump’s America.”

      And I don’t mean things like natural disasters. Increases in hate, poverty, brutality. Things that Trump stands for and causes.

    • Lodespawn@aussie.zone
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      17 hours ago

      More like psychopath with a range of untreated mental illnesses who should be locked up for everyone’s safety including his own. If only locking him up meant he’d get treated and not trained into something worse.

      • YarHarSuperstar@lemmy.world
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        13 hours ago

        Uh I’m pretty sure “racist asshole” covered it, no need to imply that mental illness causes racism (cause it doesn’t)

        • Lodespawn@aussie.zone
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          13 hours ago

          Mental illness doesn’t cause racism, but healthy people don’t follow other people for 60km and then try and beat them up

          • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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            12 hours ago

            Healthy people don’t follow a random stranger for an hour to assault them because of the perceived darkness of their skin.

            It really blows my mind we are dealing with a resurgence of racism in the 21st century in America. I was over it when I was a child. It is like I got teleported back to the 1800s.

            We really fucked up by not stomping out the south will rise again bullshit. We coddled racism so long we allowed it to fester and grow like the cancer it is.

      • ickplant@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        I’m curious what makes you think he is mentally ill and not just a raging racist. Cause I’m mentally I’ll, and I don’t try to strangle people who look different from me in a rage.

        • Lodespawn@aussie.zone
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          13 hours ago

          Do you think mental illness only comes in one form and affects people in one way? How else would you describe someone who follows and attacks someone based on some need to fulfill an imaginary direction from an authority other than a person suffering from a form of psychosis? He is clearly also a racist arsehole.

          • crapwittyname@lemm.ee
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            5 hours ago

            How else would you describe someone who follows and attacks someone based on some need to fulfill an imaginary direction from an authority

            “Cunt”