A Colorado man allegedly attacked a television news reporter after asking if he was a citizen and saying, “This is Trump’s American now,” court documents show, as reported by the Associated Press.
AP reported that the man, Patrick Thomas Egan, could be facing bias-motivated charges after being arrested on Dec. 18 in Grand Junction, Colo.
He was arrested on suspicion of bias-motivated crimes, second degree assault and harassment, AP said. Egan is supposed to appear in court next week to see if formal charges have been filed.
Police said Egan, 39, followed KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex’s vehicle, who later told police that he believed he was targeted because he is Pacific Islander, AP wrote.
The arrest affidavit said that after Egan arrived via a taxi, he pulled up next to Alex at a stoplight, AP said. The affidavit also noted, as reported by AP, that Egan had said something like, “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!”
AP said that court documents said that Alex was out reporting and later drove back to his newsroom. After getting out of his vehicle, Egan allegedly chased Alex and demanded identification, documents showed, as reported by AP. According to AP, the affidavit described Egan as tackling Alex, putting him in a headlock and then Egan “began to strangle him,” causing coworkers 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, AP reported.
The Hill has contacted the KKCO newsroom for comment. Egan’s lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
