In July, 2011 a journalist for the Annapolis, MD based paper, The Capital Gazette wrote a column which was titled, "Jarrod Wants to be Your Friend." The editor at the time, Tom Marquardt approved the piece and ran it in the publication with, we can assume, no reservations about its content, or subject, Jarrod Ramos.
Ramos, after all, had just pleaded guilty to harassing a woman who, according to the Gazette filed three separate restraining orders against him, all of them successful. He was hit with a 90 day suspended sentence and 18 months probation. In addition he was ordered to be evaluated by a shrink and attend counseling by either a psychologist, or psychiatrist. He was also instructed to stay away from the woman and her family. It never dawned on anyone to tell him not to go near the newspaper.
In 2012 Brother Ramos filed a defamation suit against The Capital Gazette, Marquardt, and the reporter who wrote the story, Eric Hartley. For unknown reasons he represented himself during the proceedings, although, given the guilty plea, it is easy to guess he couldn't find a lawyer to take up his case.
He lost in court, but didn't forget, or cool down. Over the next few years, through social media, he posted increasingly aggressive and threatening messages condemning the paper and its employees. Even though over time Marquardt retired, relocated to Florida and Hartley moved on to another job, Ramos' Twitter campaign continued. In fact, the tweets and Facebook entries become so concerning, Gazette execs reported him to the police. The cops took a look at the tirades then quickly came to the conclusion this grudge obsessed guy didn't pose any threat to the company's employees.
His last post on the Twitter account came Thursday afternoon at 2:37pm. It read, "Fuck you, leave me alone."
We all know what happened next. A scant few minutes later, Jarrod Ramos, first barricaded the back door to the paper's offices, then went in the front firing away with a pump action shotgun. Before he was captured, reportedly cowering beneath a desk, four journalists and one sales rep were dead.
President Donald J. Trump immediately sent out his, "thoughts and prayers," via, what else, Twitter. Later he told an audience, "Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job."
His words sent Reuters' on line, " Breakingviews," editor, Rob Cox into a rage. He took to Twitter with a message that read, "This is what happens when @realDonald Trump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands Mr. President. Save your thoughts and prayers for your empty soul."
It didn't take long for Reuters to renounce Cox's tweet. The ultra conservative Washington Times gleefully reported, Reuters is considering taking action against him because of his outburst.
What the Washington Times didn't report, but The Gazette did is that after the shooting the reeling publication received an unspecified number of anonymous phone calls and emails threatening further violence against journalists while others cruelly celebrated the killings. At least one demanded the paper fire a reporter because, after witnessing the murders of her friends and co-workers, she cursed on air during a TV interview.
Obviously Jarrod Ramos was bat shit nuts long before Donald Trump began routinely trashing the media by incessantly calling them, "Fake News," and "...the enemy of the American People!" In truth there is no evidence at this time Ramos had any political beliefs one way or the other--although within a few days it is pretty much guaranteed right wing trolls will be telling every Trumpist on Facebook and other places he was a former Clinton hit man; probably the guy who offed Vince Foster.
No, Jarrod Ramos isn't a product of Donald Trump, he is a product of America itself and our insatiable lust to settle every argument with a gun. On the other hand, those vile fuckers who made the vicious phone calls and wrote the emails are. You can smell Trump's anti first amendment stench all over them.
Rob Cox later apologized and deleted his tweet. He said he wrote it before he knew the real circumstances behind the shooting. We probably won't ever know if he is telling the truth, or just attempting to save his ass.
What we do know for sure though is none of the monsters who called and wrote The Capital Gazette will be apologizing for anything. Those geeks revel in their brute ignorance. And--just like, The Big Orange Guy, they will remain steadfastly convinced, no matter how compelling the evidence, any news which does not validate them, or their politics is fake--while the purveyors of it are, forever, The Enemy of The American People.
sic vita est
7-2-18
I do not blame Trump for the collective sickness in the American soul. I do blame him for presenting himself as the only one who can fix all of our problems. Hubris taken out to an extended power, and his followers are lapping it up more than ever. What the heck is wrong with the far right?
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