Reporter allegedly attacked by man saying ‘This is Trump’s America now’
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Colorado man arrested on suspicion of bias-motivated crimes and assault as hostility to journalists rises. A Colorado man attacked a TV news reporter while asking if he was a citizen and taunting him that this was life now with Donald Trump’s second presidency looming, criminal court documents allege.
The man, Patrick Thomas Egan, was arrested on 18 December in Grand Junction on suspicion of bias-motivated crimes, second-degree assault and harassment. Egan is supposed to appear in court on 2 January to see if formal charges have been filed. According to police, Egan, 39, followed the car of the KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex, who later told police he believed he was targeted because he is Pacific Islander.
An arrest affidavit in the case said Egan arrived by taxi, pulled up next to Alex – who was on an assignment at the time – at a stoplight and asked: “Are you even a US citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!”.
The affidavit described Egan as tackling Alex and putting him in a headlock before Egan “began to strangle him”, causing co-workers to run out and help. According to the documents, witnesses said Alex looked like he was struggling to breathe during the attack, which was caught on surveillance, the Associated Press reported.
While the alleged assault appears isolated, a hostile political environment to news media has seen Trump calling the news media “the enemy of the people”, a “threat to democracy”, “fake” and “crooked bastards”. He deployed such rhetoric during his first presidency from 2017 to 2021 and as he successfully sought a return to the White House in November’s election.
