Congresswoman shot in Tucson

[Blaine]

Mourners leaving the funeral of Judge John M. Roll, where he was remembered for his meticulous legal mind and kind heart.

[Blaine]

A photograph of Jared L. Loughner released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.

[Blaine]

Courtesy U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' office

Mark Kelly, husband of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, held her hand in the hospital Sunday.

[Blaine]

Representative Gabrielle Giffords in 2010.

[Volitzer]

Outlaw Handguns In America

Keep your Canadian haplophobia out of American politics.   

[Volitzer]

What still no condemnation for the CIA's false-flag terror ??

Yet you guys want to take everyone else's gun away.

Unbelieveable.   

[Brendon Webb]

It's a CIA false flag operation to everyone at the Alex Jones website.  To everyone else, it was a nutty guy inspired by right wing morons like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.

[Brendon Webb]

Cheryl Allen Charged With Making Threats
CHARLES WILSON   01/15/11 05:07 PM   




INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana woman who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress last year was being held Saturday on charges she made threats against judges and other officials on her Facebook account.

Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega – who said he was among those targeted – said he decided to move quickly after discovering the threats in part due to last week's shootings in Arizona that wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others.

"I think the Arizona situation drove more to the sense of urgency," Sonnega told The Associated Press.

Cheryl Allen, 51, of Martinsville was being held on $100,000 bond Saturday in a jail in her hometown, about 28 miles south of Indianapolis. State police arrested her on eight felony counts of intimidation on Thursday, the same day authorities discovered the postings, which were apparently published on her page three days earlier.

Allen repeatedly maintained her innocence during a court hearing Friday. But after the charges were read, she said: "Someday, may someone get even with them," according to The Reporter-Times. She could face four to 24 years in prison if convicted, state police said.

The alleged threats mentioned four Morgan County judges, and other public officials – including Sonnega – were mentioned by first name. Media reports said Allen had previously filed a discrimination lawsuit that was dismissed by a judge.

"One day I will have my revenge on your seeking so much revenge on me," read one of the posts cited in media reports.

"Someday Boooooom while your setting in your offices," read a second. "And you know I won't even be the one pulling the trigger," said another.

A message seeking comment was left with Allen's attorney on Saturday, and her home phone number was disconnected.

[Brendon Webb]

Sonnega told the AP authorities had been monitoring Allen for months due to comments she had made about various public officials, but she hadn't "crossed the line" until this week. He said he contacted state police and appointed a special prosecutor, Barry Brown, after discovering the alleged threats.

"In light of what happened in Arizona ... we thought we had better act quickly," Sonnega said.

Brown was traveling and could not be reached for comment Saturday. The Reporter-Times said Brown said in court that authorities intend to have Allen's mental health evaluated.

Allen ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Indiana's 4th Congressional District seat in 2010, winning just 3 percent of the vote. The seat that was vacated by U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer was eventually won by new U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita.

Allen had criticized the courts' handling of her discrimination case during her campaign last year and suggested the system needed a major overhaul, according to The Reporter-Times. In a Facebook post on Jan. 8, the newspaper said she wrote: "What do you need to have done to get all the current government out of office? That is why we should own guns to go into court to get my right to trial back."

[Brendon Webb]

Eric Fuller Arrested Over Tea Party Threat: Arizona Shooting Victim In Confrontation With Trent Humphries


First Posted: 01-15-11 06:42 PM   |   Updated: 01-15-11 07:06 PM



A man wounded in last weekend's shootings in Tucson was arrested today for threats he allegedly made towards a man who expressed support for gun ownership during a taping of an ABC News town hall. AZ Central reports:

    The Pima County Sheriff's Office said it arrested Eric Fuller, 63, who was wounded in the knee a week ago in the shooting rampage that killed six and wounded 13. He was being held Saturday for alleged threats of intimidation and disorderly conduct and will undergo a mental-health evaluation. [...]

    Toward the end of the taping, Amanpour brought up the issues of gun safety and mental health. As one member of the audience stood up and expressed his support for gun ownership, Fuller, seated near the front in an area reserved for victims and special guests, appeared increasingly frustrated and agitated.

    Fuller then swiveled in his chair, raised his camera and took a photo of the pro-gun speaker, muttering, "You're dead," according to Joel Tranter, who was sitting behind him.

Local Arizona station KGUN reports that the two individuals who set Fuller off were "Ariz. state Rep. Terri Proud, a Dist. 26 Republican, and Tucson Tea Party spokesman Trent Humphries."

More details here.

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Today 11:42 PM ET ABC News Posts 'Emotional' Town Hall

ABC News' Christiane Amanpour visited Tucson to gather witnesses and victims together for the first time since last weekend's tragedy. ABC News reports on the event:

    The colonel who wrestled the gunman to ground, the petite woman who knocked away his ammunition, the heroic intern who staunched the Congresswoman's bleeding – all joined Amanpour in Tucson. Other Members of Congress came to the town hall as well: Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., along with former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe. All the victims of the tragedy were invited and a thoughtful, forthright and stirring conversation ensued.

    Anna Ballis, who was at the Safeway one week ago, talked to Amanpour about the moment of the shooting. She had intended to go the grocery store, but never made it inside. She remembered seeing Christina-Taylor Green, moments before the nine-year-old girl was killed. "I do remember looking over and seeing Christina, and she was quite excited about meeting the congresswoman, jumping up and down. And, unfortunately, she never made it," Ballis said, choking back tears.

Read the whole story and watch video excerpts here.
Today 11:11 PM ET Behind The Scenes At Amanpour's Town Hall

Tucson's KGUN published a piece detailing the witnesses and victims who attended Christiane Amanpour's town hall on the Arizona shooting, during which the local Tea Party leader Trent Humphries received threats from shooting victim Eric Fuller.

KGUN reports:

    It was the first time most of them had been together since Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a Safeway parking lot, killing 6, and wounding or injuring 14 others -- a rampage that happened one week earlier almost to the hour.

    On the platform with Amanpour were Col. Bill Badger, who helped tackle gunman Jared Lee Loughner; Daniel Hernandez, who ran to help wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords while most people were ducking for cover, Patricia Maisch, who grabbed a magazine away from Loughner; Bill Hileman, whose wife, Susan, is still recovering from gunshot wounds.

    On the front row was Kenneth Dorushka, who was shot shielding his wife from Loughner's gunfire; and J. Eric Fuller, who was shot in the knee.

Read the whole story here.

http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13849741

[Brendon Webb]

Today 9:27 PM ET ABC News Reports Threat At Its Town Hall

Newsbusters.org posted a video of ABC News' report on its Town Hall and the threat that ensued against Trent Humphries. Newsbusters' report notes that ABC's coverage omitted the fact that Humphries is a leader of Tucson's Tea Party movement.

Watch the video and read the story here.
Today 9:13 PM ET Trent Humphries, Subject Of Fuller's Threats, Claims Tea Party A Victim Of Shootings

In an interview with the Guardian, Trent Humphries, co-founder of Tucson's Tea Party and subject of shooting victim Eric Fuller's violent threats, discussed why he thought the tragedy in Arizona has evolved into a "conspiracy to destroy his organization."

The Guardian reports:

    Trent Humphries says there is another innocent victim left by Jared Lee Loughner's killing of six people and wounding of 14 others in his assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. It is his Tea Party movement and, more particularly, his family. The killings, he says, are evolving into a conspiracy to destroy his organisation and silence criticism of the government.

The story continues:

    "A lot have taken as gospel that the sheriff says that this was caused by talk radio, by Tea Party extremists, that that must be the case. I think it's done a lot of damage. It's given people the idea that somebody like my wife and I caused this murder. There's no evidence. And there's no evidence Sarah Palin caused this murder," Humphries said. "The Democrats are using this opportunity to bludgeon their opponents. People don't want to hear that it was just some stupid, evil act that had no bearing in rationality. They want it to make sense."

Full article and video footage of the interview here.
Today 8:55 PM ET AP: Both Parties Seek Political Profit From Shooting

The AP reports on potential political profit both Democrats and Republicans have sought in the aftermath of last weekend's events:

    Two days after the Jan. 8 attack, the conservative Tea Party Express issued a fundraising appeal that said the accused gunman's actions in the months leading to the shooting were "more consistent with Blame America First Liberals, not the tea party movement."

    Democrats, too, acted quickly to inject politics into the shooting. Within hours of the gunfire, they circulated a posting from Sarah Palin's 2010 campaign website that showed crosshairs superimposed on Tucson, Ariz., and several other regions of the country, part of her effort to defeat incumbent Democrats who had voted for President Barack Obama's health care legislation.

Full story here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/15/both-parties-are-using-th_n_809494.html

[Brendon Webb]

Today 8:42 PM ET Frank Rich: No One Listened To Gabrielle Giffords

New York Times columnist Frank Rich penned this week's op-ed on the Arizona shooting, arguing that "if we learn nothing from this tragedy, we are back to where we started."

Read his piece here.
Today 8:39 PM ET Thousands Attend Tucson Gun Show

Just one week after Jared Lee Loughner's horrific shooting spree, thousands attended the "Crossroads of the West" gun show at the Pima County Fairgrounds, ten miles south of Tucson.

The Washington Post reports:

    University of Arizona junior Kiely Katz opened her plaid Burberry shoulder bag, took out a wallet shaped like a Japanese animated cat and plunked down her credit card for a $549 Glock 31 semiautomatic handgun.

    "I've been wanting one for a while; I've been shooting since I was little," Katz, 21, told Steve Zacher of Glockmeister, a gun dealership in Mesa, Ariz. The company's slogan - Got Glock? (the question mark replaced by a gun barrel) - was written on the display case near "Team Glock" baseball caps.

    Katz was among the thousands of patrons who streamed into the Pima County Fairgrounds, a 10-mile drive southeast of Tucson.

Full story here.
Today 8:31 PM ET Paramedics Describe 'Hellish' Shooting Scene

The AP reports on the scene paramedics encountered upon responding to last weekend's massacre:

    Veteran paramedic Tony Compagno stepped off Engine 30 and into hell: Panicked people rushed his crew, trying to pull them toward the injured, while three men desperately gave chest compressions to a 9-year-old girl.

    Others cried out "Giffords! Giffords!" and pointed to a woman lying unconscious with a gunshot wound to the head. Several other bodies were already covered with sheets.

    Compagno and other paramedics on the first three engine trucks to respond to the mass shooting at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Jan. 8 meet-and-greet event recounted Saturday the scene that unfolded a week earlier as they rushed to count and triage the victims.

Full story here.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110115/us-congresswoman-shot/

[Brendon Webb]

Today 7:45 PM ET Fuller Visited Loughner's Home

AZ Central reports that shooting victim Eric Fuller attempted to visit Jared Lee Loughner's parents at their home yesterday:

    Fuller told 12 News that he was there "to forgive them and possibly their son," but the couple wasn't home. The younger Loughner remains in jail and has been denied bail.

Read more here.
Today 7:42 PM ET Safeway Reopens With Moment Of Silence

The LA Times reports that the Safeway grocery store, the site of last weekend's massacre, reopened this morning:

    The first few workers entered the store before it opened at 7 a.m. Some paused to lean against the metal barricades in front of the impromptu memorial — flowers, candles, ribbons and Giffords campaign signs — and lay carnations on the cement where they had seen bloody bodies. They planned to return to observe a moment of silence to mark the moment the shooting began, at 10:10 a.m.

Full story here.
Today 7:29 PM ET Fuller Involuntarily Committed To Mental Facility

Phoenix's KPHO.com reports that Eric Fuller has been involuntarily committed to a mental facility:

    Pima County sheriff's spokesman Jason Ogan said that Fuller has been charged with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct.

    In addition, Ogan said Fuller has been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.

More here.
Today 7:14 PM ET Fallout From Fuller's Alleged Threat

Arizona's KGUN details the charges filed against Eric Fuller following his alleged threat against a speaker at a ABC News town hall in Tucson on Saturday:

    Deputies immediately escorted Fuller from the room.

    Pima County Sheriff's spokesman Jason Ogan said later Saturday that Fuller has been charged with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct.

    Among the dignitaries at the town hall taping were Mayor Bob Walkup, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva and former Congressman Jim Kolbe.

More information from the Daily Record:

    "I told him, 'You need to be respectful. You need to calm down,'" Tranter said. "He said, 'What'd you do, vote for this guy?'"

    As police officers approached to escort Fuller outside, he turned and shouted at the audience: "You whores!"

    The rest of the taping continued without incident and wrapped up about five minutes later.

Today 7:10 PM ET Eric Fuller Tied Palin, Beck To Shooting

One day before his arrest on Saturday, Fuller, a 63-year-old disabled veteran, was interviewed by Democracy Now! and made controversial comments about what he viewed as the political implications of the shooting.

"It looks like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the rest got their first target," Fuller said. "Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled."

[Brendon Webb]

http://www.kpho.com/news/26506251/detail.html

The Associated Press published this brief bio of Fuller on Saturday:

    J. Eric Fuller described the shootings as "a bad crime drama." Fuller said on CBS's "The Early Show" that he felt the bullet that hit his knee but didn't know he had also been struck in the back. He said he didn't know how to react and felt the victims "were in for more." Fuller said he is lucky and feels fine physically, but is outraged that Giffords was attacked. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Fuller, a naval air veteran, drove himself to Northwest Hospital after being shot. He was later taken to University Medical Center where he was released two days later.

Today 6:14 PM ET Shooting Victim Arrested For Threats

A man wounded in last weekend's shootings in Tucson was arrested today for threats he allegedly made towards a man who expressed support for gun ownership during a taping of an ABC News town hall. AZ Central reports:

    The Pima County Sheriff's Office said it arrested Eric Fuller, 63, who was wounded in the knee a week ago in the shooting rampage that killed six and wounded 13. He was being held Saturday for alleged threats of intimidation and disorderly conduct and will undergo a mental-health evaluation. [...]

    Toward the end of the taping, Amanpour brought up the issues of gun safety and mental health. As one member of the audience stood up and expressed his support for gun ownership, Fuller, seated near the front in an area reserved for victims and special guests, appeared increasingly frustrated and agitated.

    Fuller then swiveled in his chair, raised his camera and took a photo of the pro-gun speaker, muttering, "You're dead," according to Joel Tranter, who was sitting behind him.

Local Arizona station KGUN reports that the two individuals who set Fuller off were "Ariz. state Rep. Terri Proud, a Dist. 26 Republican, and Tucson Tea Party spokesman Trent Humphries."

More details here.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/15/20110115gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-tucson-forum.html#ixzz1B9HJHXxP

[Brendon Webb]

Today 10:29 AM ET New Disturbing 'Genocide' Video Of Loughner Released By School Officials

Pima Community College has released a bizarre YouTube video of Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner touring the campus with a handheld camera and railing against his "genocide" school, calling it "one of the biggest scams in America."

The video was released late Friday by school officials.

The LA Times reports that the rambling video earned Loughner a suspension from the college last fall.

    Breathing heavily and laughing softly as he walked up a dark set of stairs, Loughner said: "I lost my freedom of speech to that guy and ... this is what happens. And I'm in a terrible place. This is the school that I go to. This is my genocide school, where I'm going to be homeless because of this school. I haven't forgot the teacher that gave me the B for freedom of speech."

    Near the end of the video, while walking through a courtyard, he said, "All the teachers that you have are being paid illegally and have illegal authority over the Constitution of the United States under the 1st Amendment. This is genocide in America. Thank you. This is Jared from Pima College."

Watch the video below and read more about Loughner's struggles at the college from the Times here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFT_l8rKJj8&feature=player_embedded