Wendy Davis

Homeless Man Who Talked Of Aliens Arrested In Firebombing Of Texas Democrat's Office

Nick R. Martin | March 21, 2012, 1:11PM

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D)

Updated: March 21, 2012, 3:44 PM

A homeless man with a history of mental illness was arrested in connection with the firebombing of the Fort Worth offices of Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D), an official with the city's fire department said on Wednesday.

Police arrested Cedric Steele, 40, on Tuesday night, just hours after he was suspected of hitting the Democratic lawmaker's district office with Molotov cocktails.

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Chuck Grassley

Giffords Shooting Survivors Slam Grassley's 'Disregard' For Gun Violence Victims

Ryan J. Reilly | November 16, 2011, 5:13PM

Tucson, Arizona Shooting Witness Patricia Maisch And Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley

Eleven survivors and family members of victims of the January 2011 shooting in Arizona that nearly killed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) are criticizing Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for what they say was a "dismissive and political response" to Tucson shooting survivor Patricia Maisch's testimony in support of legislation which would close holes in the gun background check system.

In a letter sent to Grassley on Wednesday and obtained by TPM, Retired Colonel Bill Badger, Nancy Bowman, Carol Dorushka, Kenneth Dorushka, Randy Gardner, John Maisch, Patricia Maisch, Angela Robbinson, Faith Salzgeber, Foger Salzgeber and Mavy Stoddard write of their "profound disappointment" with Grassley's "obvious disregard for the gun violence survivors in the room" as well as his "apparent ignorance of the deadly serious issue we came to discuss with you."

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Gabby Giffords

FEC Rules Gabby Giffords Can Use Campaign Funds To Secure Home

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2011, 1:57PM

Rep. Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ)

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) can use campaign funds to make home improvements that would enhance her security, the Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday.

Her campaign had requested to use about $2,200 to improve her home's exterior lighting and locks and install a duress alarm button.

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Gabby Giffords

Giffords Campaign Seeks To Use Donations For Security Improvements

Ryan J. Reilly | August 19, 2011, 6:00AM

Rep. Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ)

The chairman of the congressional campaign of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is asking the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to authorize the use of $2,200 in campaign funds to pay for security improvements to the family home where she's recovering from her injuries.

Security updates recommended by Capitol Police include improving the home's exterior lighting and locks and the installation of a duress alarm button.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Jared Lee Loughner Charged With Murder Of Giffords Event Participants In New 49-Count Indictment

Ryan J. Reilly | March 4, 2011, 3:03PM

Jared Loughner

Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused in the January shooting spree in Tucson, was indicted on additional federal murder charges by a grand jury yesterday for allegedly murdering "participants at a federally provided activity," the Justice Department announced Friday.

The news out of the 49-count superseding indictment is that Loughner is now charged with the murder of non-federal employees who were participating in the event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) back in January.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Feds Release Their Mugshots Of Jared Loughner

Ryan J. Reilly | February 23, 2011, 10:20AM

The U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday released their booking photos of Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) and killing others in a mass shooting spree in Tucson.

The photos were taken after the widely-circulated mugshot taken by the Pima County Sheriff's office before Loughner was placed in federal custody.

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Carl Wimmer

Utah Legislature Approves Official State Gun Despite Controversy

David Taintor | February 11, 2011, 3:18PM

Utah is poised to be the first state to designate an official state gun.

The state senate on Thursday voted 20-7 to recommend the Browning M1911 pistol as its official state gun.

State Rep. Carl Wimmer (R) -- the bill's chief sponsor -- told TPM in December that he considers the Browning pistol "an instrument of freedom and democracy."

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Jared Lee Loughner

Tuscon: Loughner Indicted, Feds Will Seek Death Penalty

Ryan J. Reilly | January 19, 2011, 8:24PM

Jared Loughner

A federal grand jury indicted Jared Lee Loughner on three counts late Wednesday. The two page indictment released by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona charges Loughner with attempting to kill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and two of her aides, Ron Barber and Pamela Simon.

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Dick Cheney

Cheney Okay With Limiting High-Capacity Magazines In Wake Of Giffords Shooting (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 19, 2011, 1:45PM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney is no gun control advocate. In fact, as Rachel Maddow pointed out in a recent segment, he was one of only a couple members of the House of Representatives who voted against a ban on plastic guns back in the 1980s and is a regular at meetings of the National Rifle Association.

But in the wake of the mass shooting in Arizona that gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and killed six others, even Cheney indicated he's support restrictions on high-capacity magazines such as the clip allegedly used by Jared Lee Loughner.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Pima Community College Releases Jared Lee Loughner's 'Genocide/Scam' YouTube Video

Ryan J. Reilly | January 14, 2011, 9:55PM

A YouTube video in which Jared Lee Loughner called his community college a "Genocide/Scam" has been released.

"Alright, so here's what we're doing," says the man behind the camera as he navigates through a dark parking lot. "We're examining the torture of students. We're looking at students who have been tortured. Their low income pay in two wars. The war that we are in right now is currently illegal under the Constitution. What makes it illegal is the currency. The date is also wrong. It's impossible for it to be that date, it's mind control."

That's how a video Jared Lee Loughner posted on YouTube in September titled "Pima Community College School - Genocide/Scam - Free Education - Broken United States Constitution," begins. It's the video that ultimately got Loughner, the gunman allegedly behind the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and the murder of six others, suspended from the school.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Cops: Photos Show Loughner Wearing Red G-String, Holding Glock

Ryan J. Reilly | January 14, 2011, 3:17PM

Before he allegedly went on a mass killing spree Saturday, Jared Lee Loughner had photos of himself developed at a local Walgreens that showed him dressed in a bright red g-string, a Glock 9mm gun next to his naked buttocks, the New York Times reports.

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Westboro Baptist Church

Westboro Baptists Not Big On Obama's Call To Dial Down The Rhetoric

Ryan J. Reilly | January 14, 2011, 2:30PM

Shirley Phelps-Roper

There's a least one group not taking kindly to President Barack Obama's call for civility this week in the wake of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ): the Westboro Baptist Church.

Not surprisingly, a spokesperson from the infamous congregation (best known for protesting the funerals of soldiers killed in action with anti-gay signs) blew off Obama's plea to bring it down a notch in a phone interview with TPM on Friday.

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Westboro Baptist Church

Westboro Baptists Wouldn't Be At Tucson Funerals Anyhow

Ryan J. Reilly | January 14, 2011, 12:20PM

Margie Phelps

The Westboro Baptist Church won't actually be protesting at any of the funerals of the victims of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) last weekend, the Tucson Sentinel reports.

Tucson Police Department investigators confirmed that the extremist anti-gay group -- notorious for protesting outside the funerals of members of the military killed in action -- will not be coming to the state, spokeswoman Diana Lopez told the paper Thursday night.

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Rush Limbaugh

Clear Channel Yanks 'Straight Shooter' Limbaugh Ad In Tucson

Eric Lach | January 13, 2011, 5:50PM

Several weeks ago, NewsTalk 790 KNST in Tucson put up a billboard to advertise Rush Limbaugh's radio show. The text reads, "Rush Limbaugh/Straight Shooter," and the ad is riddled with images of bullet holes. In the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 18 others on Saturday, KNST's parent company, Clear Channel, decided to take down the billboard.

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Jared Loughner

Police Find Black Bag Containing Ammo Near Loughner's Home

Rachel Slajda | January 13, 2011, 3:29PM

Police in Tucson have found a black bag containing ammunition near Jared Loughner's house and the FBI is analyzing it, according to local reports.

Investigators have been looking for the bag, which they say Loughner and his father fought over the morning of the shooting. According to police, Jared Loughner took it out of the trunk of his car and then argued with his father about it. When Jared drove away, his father reportedly tried to drive after him, but lost him.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Jared Lee Loughner Had Various Run-Ins With Cops Before Shooting

Ryan J. Reilly and Melissa Jeltsen | January 12, 2011, 5:55PM

Jared Lee Loughner's first contact with the Pima County Sheriff came on Sept. 23, 2004. But it wasn't for anything he did. The assistant principal at Mountain View High School contacted police to report that Loughner reported being struck with a pin coming out of a pen in the cafeteria.

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Pat Buchanan

Pat Buchanan: Sarah Palin's Use Of Blood Libel Was 'Excellent' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 12, 2011, 2:38PM

Pat Buchanan

Pat Buchanan said Wednesday that Sarah Palin has been a victim of the media in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), and she was right to use the phrase "blood libel" in defending herself from charges that her language had anything to do with the mass shooting.

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Sarah Palin

Palin's Use Of 'Blood Libel' Mirrors That In Right-Wing Media

Ryan J. Reilly | January 12, 2011, 1:03PM

Before Sarah Palin posted her Facebook provocation this morning accusing the media of committing "blood libel" for connecting some of her statements to the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), that phrase was being batted around by the conservative media.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Loughner Asked Online Gamers If They Had 'Aggression 24/7'

Ryan J. Reilly | January 12, 2011, 11:05AM

For a 22-year-old high school dropout, some of Jared Lee Loughner's concerns were typical. He had trouble landing a minimum wage job. Girls didn't get him. He fixated on weight lifting.

But other postings allegedly made by Loughner on a private forum associated with the online game Earth Empires under the names Heroin, XTC and Erad were much more disturbing.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Loughner's Former Prof Describes His 'Illogical-Logic' Rant (VIDEO)

Megan Carpentier | January 12, 2011, 9:29AM

Debbie Scheidemantel, the adjunct professor at Pima Community College who called the cops to have Jared Loughner removed from her classroom last year, told The Early Show that when she first heard the description of the suspect in the shootings in Tucson that claimed six lives and critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), she thought of Loughner.

Scheidemantel described the events that led to her call to the police and have Loughner removed from her classroom.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Likely Jared Lee Loughner Internet Postings Discuss NASA Conspiracies, Existence Of God

Ryan J. Reilly | January 12, 2011, 8:10AM

Jared Lee Loughner who was tackled and taken into custody at the scene of the Tuscon shooting on January 8, 2011.

Jared Lee Loughner appears to have been a user of a web forum where conspiracy theorists discussed UFO sightings, the existence of God and racism in video games. But even there, he didn't fit in. Other website users appeared to grow frustrated with Loughner and one even plead for him to seek professional help.

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Joe Arpaio

Joe Arpaio Defends Sarah Palin, Says Sheriff Dupnik Too Political (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 11, 2011, 10:02PM

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, not exactly known for his bipartisanship, thinks that fellow Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County is getting too political in his rhetoric in the wake of the mass shooting over the weekend that killed six people and gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

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Jared Lee Loughner

Parents Of Alleged Shooter Jared Lee Loughner: 'We Care Deeply About The Victims'

Ryan J. Reilly | January 11, 2011, 5:58PM

Randy and Amy Loughner, the parents of alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner, released a statement to the media for the first time on Tuesday.

"There are no words that can possibly express how we feel," the Loughner family said in a statement. "We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better."

"We don't understand what happened. It may not make any difference, but we wish we could change the heinous events of Saturday," the family said. "We care deeply about the victims and their families, and we are so very sorry for their loss."

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Sarah Palin

Arizona Lawmaker In Palin's 'Crosshairs' Says Blame Game Is Not Helpful (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 11, 2011, 3:40PM

Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ)

Arizona Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who like Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was targeted by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, said in an interview Tuesday that "the blame game is not helpful right now."

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Frank Lautenberg

Lautenberg: 'We Don't Have More Madmen, We Have More Guns' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 11, 2011, 1:37PM

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) said on Tuesday that America's problem isn't that there are more madmen, it's that guns are too readily available to them. In the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and the murder of six others in a mass shooting over the weekend is pushing legislation to ban high-capacity gun clips.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Neighbors: Jared Lee Loughner and His Family Were Very Isolated

Ryan J. Reilly | January 11, 2011, 11:02AM

Randy and Amy Loughner, the parents of accused shooter Jared Lee Loughner, haven't said anything publicly since their son allegedly took a Glock 19 with a high capacity clip to an event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and killed six people and injured 14, including the congresswoman.

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Gabby Giffords

No Signs Obama Will Shift On Gun Control After Giffords Shooting

Ryan J. Reilly and Melissa Jeltsen | January 11, 2011, 8:37AM

Virtually since the Obama administration took office, the White House has avoided touching the third-rail issue of gun control with a 10-foot pole. So will the mass shooting in Arizona that gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and killed six others (including a federal judge) change their approach?

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2010 Elections

Before Shooting, A Campaign Season Rife With Gun Rhetoric

Rachel Slajda | January 11, 2011, 8:30AM

Sarah Palin's controversial map.

The person who shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), a federal judge and 18 other people Saturday may or may not have had a coherent political philosophy or a rational motive. But his actions still come after a campaign season rife with gun imagery and borderline violent rhetoric.

There is, of course, Sarah Palin's map in which targeted districts were marked by crosshairs (spun as "surveyor's symbols" by Palin aides), but there was much, much more over the 2010 campaign:

Target Practice
Robert Lowry, a Republican challenger to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schulz (D-FL), stopped by a local Republican event in October. The event was at a gun range, and Lowry shot at a human-shaped target that had Wasserman Schulz's initials written next to it. He later said it was a "mistake."

Wasserman Schulz, who defeated Lowry, remembered that incident on Hardball Monday evening.

"Those kinds of actions, words and statements can lead people who are unbalanced to potentially engage and carry out that violence," she said. "It's out of line and we've got to dial it back."

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Jared Lee Loughner

Alleged Giffords Shooter Jared Lee Loughner Held By Federal Judge

Ryan J. Reilly | January 10, 2011, 4:27PM

Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged gunman behind the mass shooting on Saturday that killed six people (including a federal judge) and gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), appeared in federal court on Monday with his head shaved and wearing a tan inmate's outfit. Loughner, who the Associated Press said had a cut on his head, was held without bail as a judge called him "a danger to society."

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Frank Lautenberg

Lautenberg Wants Ban On High-Capacity Gun Clip Allegedly Used In Giffords Shooting

Ryan J. Reilly | January 10, 2011, 3:24PM

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

In the wake of the mass shooting in Arizona this weekend, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) plans to introduce legislation prohibiting the manufacture and sale of high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, his office said in a statement to TPM Monday.

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Tucson Shootings

'Political Spin': Conservatives Pile On Pima County Sheriff Dupnik (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | January 10, 2011, 2:40PM

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik thrust himself into the spotlight in the aftermath of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 19 other people in Arizona on Saturday, decrying the heated political atmosphere and calling for more civility.

"It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included," he said on Saturday. "That's the sad thing about what's going on in America: pretty soon we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."

Dupnik immediately angered some on the right, who took his words to be directed at the tea party and conservatives, as well as Arizonans who took offense to his depiction of Arizona as "a mecca for prejudice and bigotry."

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Jared Lee Loughner

Lawyers For White Supremacist And 'Unabomber' To Represent Jared Lee Loughner

Ryan J. Reilly | January 10, 2011, 1:12PM

The Federal Public Defender's Office on Monday requested that the court appoint Judy Clarke and Mark Fleming to represent Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect allegedly behind the mass shooting on Saturday that killed a federal judge and gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

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Jared Lee Loughner

Loughner Conviction Could Come Down To Why Judge Was At Giffords Event

Ryan J. Reilly and Melissa Jeltsen | January 10, 2011, 12:05PM

Judge John Roll

Whether Jared Lee Loughner is convicted federally of killing federal judge John McCarthy Roll could come down simply to why he showed up to Saturday's event with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

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Jared Lee Loughner

Woman Who Grabbed Loughner's Gun Clip: 'Extreme Right' Added To Problem (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 10, 2011, 10:49AM

Patricia Maisch, the 61-year-old woman who grabbed a magazine away from the alleged shooter on Saturday, suggested in an interview with Fox News on Sunday night that hateful rhetoric was in part to blame for the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and the mass shooting which killed six others and left more than a dozen injured.

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Westboro Baptist Church

Westboro Baptists Thank God For Giffords Shooting, Will Picket Funerals

Ryan J. Reilly | January 10, 2011, 9:35AM

Members of the hate group known as the Westboro Baptists Church, infamous for their inflammatory anti-gay protests celebrating the deaths of American soldiers, plan to show up to the funerals of those killed in the Tucson, AZ shootings which killed six and severely injured Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ).

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Jared Loughner

What We Know About Alleged Attempted Giffords Assassin Jared Lee Loughner

Ryan J. Reilly | January 10, 2011, 8:46AM

There's a partial portrait of Jared Lee Loughner -- the 22-year-old charged in the mass shooting Saturday which left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) fighting for her life and several others, including federal judge John Roll, Giffords staffer Gabe Zimmerman and and a 9-year-old girl, dead -- emerging from the suspect's online tracks, interviews with former friends and classmates and law enforcement sources.

Here's what we know so far: Loughner's classmates at his community college expressed worries about him, and he had at least five run ins with campus police which led to his suspension. Loughner dropped out of high school during his senior year. He was rejected from the Army, reportedly for failing a drug test. On YouTube and MySpace, he ranted against government "mind control" and illiteracy. We also know that Loughner's family were described as "loners" by neighbors.

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Jared Lee Loughner

'Unabomber' Lawyer Will Represent Alleged Giffords Shooter Jared Lee Loughner

Ryan J. Reilly | January 9, 2011, 9:48PM

Judy Clarke, who represented "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski and assisted in the case of confessed al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui, has been appointed to represent Jared Lee Loughner, the man charged by federal authorities with two murders as well as the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and two others.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Feds Formally Charge Jared Loughner For Murders, Attempting To Kill Gabby Giffords

Ryan J. Reilly | January 9, 2011, 3:44PM

The Justice Department just filed charges against Jared Lee Loughner for a count of attempting to kill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), two counts of first degree murder of federal employees and two counts of attempted murder of federal employees. We've got a copy of the complaint from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona posted here.

FBI Special Agent Tony M. Taylor writes in a statement of probable cause that John M. Roll, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona who was killed yesterday, had worked with Giffords within the last several months to resolve issues related to the volume of cases filed in the District of Arizona. It seems to confirm the theory that Roll was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time and that Loughner was targeting Giffords.

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Jared Lee Loughner

Person Of Interest In Gifford Shooting Was Loughner's Taxi Driver

Ryan J. Reilly | January 9, 2011, 3:42PM

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said law enforcement officials are no longer interested in the individual who they said earlier was possibly associated with the main suspect in Saturday's mass shooting in Arizona, Jared Loughner.

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Gabby Giffords

Police No Longer Looking For Second Person Of Interest In Arizona Shootings

Jillian Rayfield | January 9, 2011, 9:26AM

Update: At just before 3:30 ET, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik announced that they had cleared the person of interest.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department is asking the public for information on a second person of interest in the shootings in Arizona yesterday that included Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who remains in critical condition after being shot in the head.

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