Erickson SWATting on CNN
Today I returned from a short trip. Starting Friday morning, I was in Catalina with my son, on an Indian Guides trip. It made observing the day of silence far more attractive, and indeed tempted me into two days of silence!
Yes, it was fun and relaxing. Thanks for asking.
Erick sent me a link to a copy of the SWATting tape last week. It was horrible. Yesterday CNN finally covered the story and played part of the tape:
The voice is clearly similar to the previous SWATtings of me and Mike Stack.
Erickson’s statement that the three SWATted conservative “bloggers” wrote about Brett Kimberlin strikes me as oversimplified. While it’s true that Mike Stack left a comment on my site in October 2010 mocking Kimberlin, it seems unlikely that this comment has much significance to the SWATting story. Instead, as I have already explained here, Kimberlin’s associate Neal Rauhauser provides a bridge of sorts between Mike Stack and me (who were writing about Anthony Weiner in June 2011) and me and Erick Erickson (both of whom have written and spoken about Brett Kimberlin):
As you can see from reading the document referenced, Rauhauser had a deep animus towards Stack. And he claimed that Stack was “harassing” certain people, including Brett Kimberlin. Moreover, he connected that to Weinergate. Rauhauser states in the document that one of the reasons Stack allegedly harassed Kimberlin and himself was that “Rauhauser wrote extensively about Stack, Frey, Bloom, and their fabrications regarding former Congressman Anthony Weiner.”
So you can see that from reading Rauhauser’s paranoid rant that, in Neal Rauhauser’s mind, there is a connection between me and Mike Stack (the two swatting victims from 2011), our alleged fabrications about Anthony Weiner, and our alleged harassment of Brett Kimberlin.
Remember that Rauhauser is Kimberlin’s associate and was present at the recent hearing where Aaron Walker was arrested.
I was invited to be on CNN yesterday, by the way, but couldn’t, what with my prior commitment to being with my son in Catalina. Putting to one side the previously mentioned quibble, Erick did a fine job, as I assumed he would.
Erickson’s SWATting, by the way, was initially characterized as a report of an accidental shooting — but in fact, it was the worst one yet. It was even more calculated to provoke an extreme police response than mine or Stack’s. The caller not only says he has shot his wife, but he claims he is going to shoot someone else soon. Nothing could be more premeditated and designed to bring out police with guns drawn and at the ready. Erickson is fortunate he warned his police ahead of time this could happen.
He didn’t warn them because he was talking about Anthony Weiner, either, by the way.
On our supposed day of silence, Ace had an epic post that is worth your time if you have not already read it. It was Ace’s idea to have a day of silence; now I realize that he just wanted people’s undivided attention so they could read his own 50,000 word post. And it’s worth every hour spent by the reader. I hear from people who started it on Friday and are still reading it that the first 5% or so is fantastic, and they fully expect to enjoy the rest in coming days and weeks.
I kid because I love. I’m sure my initial post on the SWATting was even longer.
Also, Breitbart.com has reported the incident from just after Erickson’s SWATting, where the purported SWATter (and I think it’s him) called me up and taunted me.
I miss anything else?
I think I have one of those Brian Williams sunglasses tan line things going here.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:09 pmRacist
JD (318f81) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:21 pmErickson was SWATted May 27th and CNN reported about it 12 days later – is there an explanation for this delay other than fear of retribution? Or was it political?
Dana (4eca6e) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:27 pmIt took Lemon 12 days to think of a way to blame wingnuts for what has happened to them. He should have just called kmart.
JD (318f81) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:28 pmJD,
Lemon was very close to laying blame on the bloggers as having provoked the attacks, and yet simultaneously pointedly reminded viewers/Erickson that there is no substantiated evidence directly linking the SWATtings to BK. It smelled political.
Dana (4eca6e) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:31 pmIncivility leads to SWATtings.
Solution: more civility!
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:32 pmGlad you had fun with your son. Those outing left fond memories with all my sons and stories that will not be talked about among the Big Braves.
They changed the name out here from Indian Guides to Y Guides to be more politically correct.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:34 pmAce hits another one out of the park, after some nasty commenters struck. Comments are open again over there.
htom (412a17) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:34 pmThe Dodgers got no-hit.
Ed from SFV (68921e) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:35 pmand yetwhile simultaneously *and* pointedlyremindedreminding viewers…geez.
Dana (4eca6e) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:35 pmI was invited to be on CNN yesterday, by the way, but couldn’t, what with my prior commitment to being with my son in Catalina.
You chose family over fame. My respect for you is enhanced even further.
aunursa (22a3c0) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:37 pmThey changed the name out here from Indian Guides to Y Guides to be more politically correct.
Why? Aren’t Indians good enough to have an organization named for them in recognition of the Indians’ outdoor skills, reverence for nature, etc?
What a shame the politically correct so devalue and demean a people.
*steps off soapbox*
Dana (4eca6e) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:41 pmWhere is leo when we need civility and concern?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:42 pmDon Lemon was a laughingstock level lightweight when he was on air at the Chicago NBC network affiliate. It was good to see him depart. CNN deserves him. But the people who have to watch CNN or be interviewed by him do not.
elissa (f8c58d) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:42 pmI was invited to be on CNN yesterday, by the way, but couldn’t, what with my prior commitment to being with my son in Catalina.
You chose family over fame. My respect for you is enhanced even further.
While I agree, the real test would have been if Megyn Kelly had invited him to be on her show…
Dana (4eca6e) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:43 pm==They changed the name out here from Indian Guides to Y Guides to be more politically correct==
Wait till Liawatha hears about this! She’s very proud of her native American heritage. If “Pow Wow Chow” isn’t objectionable how can “Indian Guides” be politically incorrect fer heaven’s sake?
elissa (f8c58d) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:49 pmBrutal!
I concede that there is no inherent thrill in being interviewed by Don Lemon.
Being interviewed by Megyn Kelly, on the other hand . . .
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:51 pmLet’s face it. Being interviewed by Don Lemon does not exactly raise someone to a position of prominence.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:55 pmBut all joking aside, Dana, the commitment is the commitment — and more important, the special time with one’s child is not replaceable. If it can wait a day, great. If it can’t, then it can’t.
In this case, it couldn’t wait.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:56 pmI would be ashamed if I let Lemon interview me.
JD (318f81) — 6/10/2012 @ 6:56 pmYou would be even more ashamed if you allowed CNN’s viewership to watch.
Currently numbering in the hundreds at least.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:00 pmEven if I were a lefty, I’d still prefer an interview with Megyn Kelly to one with Don Lemon.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:02 pmEven if I were a lefty, I’d still prefer an interview with Megyn Kelly to one with Don Lemon.
Okay, Patterico, let it go now…just let it go.
(@ 19, no one here doubts for a minute that you would ever say no to a weekend of father-son time just to be interviewed by the likes of CNN, Megan Kelly, or anyone else. You’re just not that kind of guy….oh, and really, don’t give a second thought to your lack of prominence.)
🙂
Dana (4eca6e) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:12 pmNo kidding. I initially was surprised by idea this was a much more minor swatting call.
Then I heard the tape. Those bastards are going to get someone killed! I am convinced they were trying to murder Mr Erickson. When the swatter is caught, they need to do hard time.
And there is a reward of over $8000 for info leading to the conviction of the SWATter. I think the SWATter is working with others. Some of those people have got to feel a pang of guilt for letting this man evade justice and escalate things to where he’s telling police he intends to shoot someone else.
If you know who the swatter is, collect the reward and avoid the guilt that will come when eventually this swatter gets someone killed.
Nice. My dad took me to Catalina when I was a boy. I’m afraid Galveston does not compete. He let me drive the golf cart around, even though he probably shouldn’t have. He was talking the whole time about the Caspian sea and his trips with his father. I wouldn’t trade that trip for anything.
Dustin (330eed) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:14 pmJD, has it become too obvious what we’re doing here?
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:15 pmIt was quite obvious the very first time, P.
JD (318f81) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:21 pm“I was invited to be on CNN yesterday, by the way, but couldn’t, what with my prior commitment to being with my son in Catalina.”
Can’t go wrong with those priorities.
I admire your sacrifice. Just think of the holograms you might have met.
Ken (c24d1b) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:26 pmSo we have three reports of SWATtings. Any indication of investigations?
Richard Aubrey (0aac79) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:32 pmIf not, why not?
Folks, Popehat is as stand-up of a fellow as you will encounter.
JD (318f81) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:39 pmPatterico – If you get invited to be interviewed by Megyn Kelly and have a prior commitment, I would somehow find a way to go in your place if I had to just to get the story out.
Ima giver.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:41 pmJD’s right.
And Ken has recently posted an entry relevant to the Kimberlin discussion about another person facing a potential loss of freedom for his blogging.
Dustin (330eed) — 6/10/2012 @ 7:43 pmComment by daleyrocks — 6/10/2012 @ 6:34 pm
What he said about time with son. Cliches come cheap, but they are true, don’t know how my oldest became 26.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/10/2012 @ 8:18 pmMD in Philly – See #7 plus now 15 years in scouting.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 6/10/2012 @ 8:20 pmMD in Philly – See #7 plus now 15 years in scouting.
Comment by daleyrocks — 6/10/2012 @ 8:20 pm
Yes, that’s what I was referring to. The two boys and a few friends are going to Montana in August to some national Forest where bears outnumber people, I think.
I forget who it was, someone will probably now it, some famous man, American I think, had an entry in his journal about “a day wasted”. The same day had an entry in his son’s journal about it being the best day of his life going fishing with his dad.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/10/2012 @ 8:30 pm
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/10/2012 @ 8:31 pmnowknow“On our supposed day of silence, Ace had an epic post that is worth your time if you have not already read it. It was Ace’s idea to have a day of silence; now I realize that he just wanted people’s undivided attention so they could read his own 50,000 word post.”
That’s a dirt trick. I actually went all day without saying anything on a right wing blog.
And that’s quite a feat for me.
Dave Surls (46b08c) — 6/10/2012 @ 8:57 pmI didn’t get the whole silence thing at all I’m glad it’s over
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 6/10/2012 @ 9:23 pmthere’s a helicopter to Catalina (helpful youtube for so you get how very very cool this is) I’m a do someday inasmuch as it’s on the bucket list
I tried to do it for my family but sister in law is scared of things what go in the air
god bless america
so I’m thinking maybe next April I’ll do it for my friend P’s b-day
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 6/10/2012 @ 9:26 pm“I didn’t get the whole silence thing”
It means you can’t say anything. It’s okay if you cough or sneeze though.
Dave Surls (46b08c) — 6/10/2012 @ 9:34 pmI dimly think I understand, why Erickson acted the way, he did, that ABC piece that ran this morning
narciso (494474) — 6/10/2012 @ 9:51 pmwas a masterpiece of evasion, but that doesn’t quite gel, with the advice he gave,
“What I missed”
TennLion (97403b) — 6/11/2012 @ 12:11 amPopehat writes of another blogger threatened by what they are calling “The Kimberlin Team:”
http://www.popehat.com/2012/06/10/shut-up-they-explained-another-blogger-threatened-with-imprisonment-for-writing-about-brett-kimberlin/
Depending on how old your son is, he might have preferred to accompany you to your hypothetical interview with Megyn Kelly 🙂
PS: I have to admit I have no idea who Megyn Kelly is, and am merely taking my cues from the other commenters on this and other threads. Especially the prominent ones. I suppose I could look her up on Wikipedia, but I’m too lazy.
Milhouse (312124) — 6/11/2012 @ 12:16 amWho is Bloom?
MayBee (2f6e35) — 6/11/2012 @ 12:22 amSpeaking of swatting…
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/06/thieves-bear-sprayed-spanked-by-store-owner
That was funnier than hell.
Dave Surls (46b08c) — 6/11/2012 @ 1:27 amWTF?!
Milhouse (312124) — 6/11/2012 @ 1:36 amI suppose I could look her up on Wikipedia, but I’m too lazy.
— Look her up on the GQ website. If that doesn’t pull you out of your stupor, then nothing will.
Icy (380bb8) — 6/11/2012 @ 1:38 amI miss anything else?
On July 7, 2011, Neal Rauhauser suddenly announced he was leaving Illinois, and moving to the Washington D.C. area where he had a new job. He moved three months later. The job he meant may or may not have been working for Brett Kimberlin.
There are any number of interpretations possible. It could be a coincidence, but…
1) Was he covering his tracks? (moving and disconnecting everything would cause companies to sooner discard information, plus he would purge his files too.
2) Were people disassociating from him, or he disassociating from other clients?
3) Did it have anything to do with the SWATtings (of which there were only two, on June 23 and June30/July1, and then they stopped)
4) Or maybe have something to do with the July 5, 2011 Patterico post:
https://patterico.com/2011/07/05/neal-rauhausers-new-friend-brett-kimberlin-speedway-bomber/
Or was this planned in advance anyway? The Weinergate sock contorversy had not been going on very long.
Sammy Finkelman (50ecfc) — 6/11/2012 @ 3:29 amI can’t say with certainty that the voice on that CNN excerpt was the same as from the previous samples we’ve listened to.
They could be the same person; they could be different people all trying to mimic the same person or sound.
Like if you asked three people to all do a Buggs Bunny voice; they’d all sound somewhat similar even though they were three different people.
I know it’s obvious, considering the context, but it’s clear that even if this caller was a different person from earlier SWATtings, he is obviously associated with them.
As I say, obvious. Personally, I think it’s the same voice.
Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b) — 6/11/2012 @ 4:47 amAt my house it’s Ken@popehat this and Ken@Popehat that. Very quotable around the breakfast table though there are rooms I’ve been asked not to invoke the name.
SarahW (b0e533) — 6/11/2012 @ 5:56 amFixed the autostart problem with the video.
Patterico (feda6b) — 6/11/2012 @ 7:11 amYou made several posts here on Saturday. Unless you don’t think this is a right-wing blog, your statement here is hard to reconcile.
Chuck Bartowski (3bccbd) — 6/11/2012 @ 7:18 amChuck,
Friday was the day of silence, not Saturday.
Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b) — 6/11/2012 @ 7:42 amMy mistake. The days all seem to blend into one for me now, I thought Saturday was the day of silence.
I apologize for my previous comment.
Chuck Bartowski (3bccbd) — 6/11/2012 @ 7:49 amI’ve listened to all the recordings, and I think it’s the same guy. People are paying more attention to the voice than the speech itself. Voices can be changed, but speech patterns are much more difficult to alter. There’s a certain inflection and lack of annunciation with certain words (like “there”) that are the same. That would be difficult to mimic.
BMW (d777af) — 6/11/2012 @ 7:50 amComment by Chuck Bartowski — 6/11/2012 @ 7:49 am
I thought Saturday was the day of silence.
Patterico added a second day, but only for himself. The day of silence anyway was only supposed to be for blog posts.
If Ace’s true attention was to call attention to his own post, then he should simply have said “everybody else” or even that nobody should blog except about Kimberlin or nobody should blog but link to his blog, but I guess he’s so afraid something will be disrupted by Team Penguin (I guess you can all it) that he didn’t do it. He wanted to take Kimberlin and company completely by surprise – they wouldn’t expect a post from him that day.
Sammy Finkelman (f1f0c7) — 6/11/2012 @ 8:01 am_______________________________________________
The voice is clearly similar to the previous SWATtings of me and Mike Stack.
Maybe I’ve missed the mention of it somewhere, but haven’t they tracked down the number where the call (or calls) came from? I’d guess they have, but even if it led to a public phone booth or some masked number (and can’t that be probed by getting legal approval to access the phone system?), I don’t know why speculation about the identity of the caller’s voice never includes any reference to the number he was calling from.
Mark (23717c) — 6/11/2012 @ 8:06 amMark, because these types of calls are usually done with VOIP or Skype calls that mask the number.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/11/2012 @ 9:05 amThe call to the radio station came from a number in the 403 area code which is Alberta. This is north of Montana and extends from Longitude 110 west to the border with British Columbia, which starts at 114 degrees west but eventually goes to to 120 degrees west. This area code I think used to include British Columbia, but then it was split off and British Columbia itself split into 3 area codes with the greater part of British Columbia given a new area code while 403 is sverything else.
Alberta extends from 49 degrees north to 60 degrees north, but Area Code 403 includes Yukon and (I think) what used to be Northwest Territories but now has another name (the Area code map in the telephone white pages has never shown it) – and it extends all the way to the North Pole, if there was a telephone there.
But that’s almost certainly not where the call really originated from.
Sammy Finkelman (71b058) — 6/11/2012 @ 9:30 amRegarding tracing the call: anybody can go into a 7/11 and purchase a prepaid cell phone for about $10.00 that does not trace your location. You can then simply discard the phone afterwards. Plus there are services offered where you can have calls to certain phones transfered to others. I don’t think where the calls were made from would lead to anything unless they were made from a land line somewhere. It would be interesting to eaves drop on the blogs where certain people gain their support. You may not get info on this particular crime, but I can imagine you’d get a lot of info on how it’s done. However it was done though involves some sort of stealth trickery, and much of that is quite easy to do.
BMW (d777af) — 6/11/2012 @ 9:54 amWhy viewers still make use of to read news papers when in this technological world all is existing on web?
blog post (a0584a) — 6/11/2012 @ 10:04 pmoh sweet jesus guacamole at the very least we all have to agree to use english
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 6/11/2012 @ 10:05 pm