After arriving in Grand Junction, 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!”

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. Coworkers who ran out to help and witnesses told police that Alex appeared to be losing his ability to breathe during the attack, which was partially captured on surveillance video, according to the document.

        • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org
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          6 days ago

          You wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t allowed every bumfuck idiot to get a killing toy at fucking Walmart. Now thinking that getting more of those things into the hands of even more idiots would solve your problems is just ludicrous.

          This incident is a symptom of your current system, not the beginning of a new one

          • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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            6 days ago

            Ah yes, the rise of fascism and populist authoritarians and oligarchs is definitely a uniquely American thing that hasn’t happened and can’t happen anywhere else because they don’t have privately-owned guns… how silly of me.

              • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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                5 days ago

                Our danger right now is not an armed uprising, it’s an authoritarian government with populist support.

                If the US didn’t have a single (legal) privately-owned firearm the danger would be even worse, because Trump could hand them out just to his supporters, and then they’d be the only armed ones.