Tucson Shootings

Video Of Tucson Shooting Shows Judge Protecting Giffords Aide

Rachel Slajda | January 19, 2011, 11:17AM

Judge John Roll

Surveillance video from the shooting in Tucson reportedly show federal Judge John Roll trying to save the life of one of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' aides before he himself was fatally shot.

According to an officer in the Pima County Sheriff's Department, the video shows Roll trying to guide the aide, Ron Barber, to safety.

"It's very clear to me the judge was thinking of his fellow human more than himself," said Richard Kastigar, the investigative and operational bureau chief of the department.

Read more »

Jared Lee Loughner

Ex-Friend: Loughner Was Influenced By Conspiracy Theory Movie

Eric Lach | January 17, 2011, 8:43AM

In the same Good Morning America interview in which he said that Jared Lee Loughner "wasn't on the left, he wasn't on the right," former Loughner friend Zach Osler mentioned a documentary film called Zeitgeist, which he says heavily influenced the alleged Tucson gunman.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

South Carolina

South Carolina Armory Sells Engraved 'You Lie' Gun Part

David Taintor | January 12, 2011, 8:49AM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

As the debate over the use of violent political rhetoric heats up in the aftermath of the shooting in Arizona that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition, a South Carolina gun company may find itself in an uncomfortable position.

Corey Hutchins, a reporter for the South Carolina alt weekly Free Times, reports that a South Carolina gun and accessories company is selling semi-automatic rifle components with the words "You Lie" inscribed on them.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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?

Read more »

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."

Read more »

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."

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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."

Read more »

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).

Read more »

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).

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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).

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

John Roll

Marshals: We're Taking 'Appropriate Actions' Following Murder Of Federal Judge John Roll

Ryan J. Reilly | January 8, 2011, 7:25PM

Judge John Roll

Following the murder today of Arizona's Chief Federal Judge John McCarthy Roll at the shooting incident in Arizona, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service told TPM the federal agency is taking "appropriate actions to ensure the security of the federal judiciary."

Read more »

Gabby Giffords

FLASHBACK: Gabby Giffords Faced Threats Over Heath Care Vote

Ryan J. Reilly | January 8, 2011, 6:24PM

Picture of vandalized congressional office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was facing threats long before she was shot in the head today at a supermarket in Arizona.

Though it's not yet clear what motivated the attack on Giffords -- though suspect Jared Loughner has left a long internet trail -- the attack came after numerous threats against Giffords over the past couple of years.

Giffords's father Spencer Gifford, 75, told the New York Post that her enemies were "the whole Tea Party."

But as Zachary Roth also outlined, Giffords has consistently faced threats, mostly for her view on health care reform.

Read more »

Eric Holder

Holder: We'll Hold Those Responsible Accountable For 'Heinous' Shootings

Ryan J. Reilly | January 8, 2011, 5:45PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder just issued a statement on the shooting of several individuals in Arizona on Saturday, including Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) and the killing of federal judge John Roll.

Read more »

Robert Mueller

Obama Sends FBI Director Robert Mueller to Scene Of Gifford Shootings

Ryan J. Reilly | January 8, 2011, 5:31PM

Robert S. Mueller III

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Bob Mueller is in route to the scene of the shootings in Arizona where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and 17 others were injured, President Barack Obama said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon.

Read more »

John Roll

Federal Judge John Roll Killed In Arizona Shooting

Ryan J. Reilly | January 8, 2011, 3:21PM

Judge John Roll

John Roll, Arizona's chief federal judge, was killed in the same incident in which Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot on Saturday morning.

A federal law enforcement official first confirmed to TPM that a federal judge was shot. The U.S. Marshals Service is on the scene of the shooting, the federal official told TPM. The Marshals Service employees responded to the scene after the shooting, the official said.

WNBC reporter Jonathan Dienst confirmed Roll was killed. A statement from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement that Roll had been attacked.

Roll faced death threats in 2009 after presiding over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit, the Arizona Republic reported:

When Roll ruled the case could go forward, Gonzales said talk-radio shows cranked up the controversy and spurred audiences into making threats.

In one afternoon, Roll logged more than 200 phone calls. Callers threatened the judge and his family. They posted personal information about Roll online.

"They said, 'We should kill him. He should be dead,' " Gonzales said.

Roll, who is the chief federal judge in Arizona, said both he and his wife were given a protection detail for about a month.

"It was unnerving and invasive. . . . By its nature it has to be," Roll said, adding that they were encouraged to live their lives as normally as possible. "It was handled very professionally by the Marshals Service."

At the end of the month, Roll said four key men had been identified as threat makers.

The Marshals Service left to him the decision to press charges but recommended against it. Roll said he had no qualms about following their advice.

The recommendation was based on the intent of those making the threats.

"I have a very strong belief that there is nothing wrong with criticizing a judicial decision," he said. "But when it comes to threats, that is an entirely different matter."

Editor's Note: This post has been updated since it was first published.