After the proclamation by Neil “A liar and a cheat” Hamilton that the ranks of the motley convocation of saloon bar propper-uppers at UKIP had been swollen by new members like Milo Yiannopoulos, today has brought an opportunity to repent at leisure. Hamilton and his fellow has-beens may have thought they were welcoming someone who would bring great things to their party. They should have been careful what they wished for.
As I noted the other day, the New Republic had told readers “Asked by Observer to comment on a story, Yiannopoulos texted, ‘I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight.’ He sent a similar comment to a Daily Beast writer”. Observer had a little more detail on that threat later.
“Yiannopoulos also sent the message to The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer in an article examining the struggling U.K. Independence Party, which the conservative commentator is reportedly seeking to join as part of, what an Info Wars host describes as, a ‘soft coup’ lead by nationalist figures … Yiannopoulos posted a picture on Instagram of the veiled threat issued to Sommer, captioning it ‘where is the lie.’”
And then came the bad news, as the BBC reported. “A gunman has opened fire at a local newspaper office in Maryland, killing five people and injuring others in what police said was a ‘targeted attack’. Staff at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis said the attacker, armed with a shotgun and smoke grenades, shot through a glass door into the newsroom. US media have named a suspect held by police as Jarrod Ramos. He is reported to have unsuccessfully sued the newspaper group in 2012 for defamation”.
Whatever could have made Ramos think now might be the time to gun down journalists? Oh hang on, what’s this from The Hill? “Conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday insisted that he ‘wasn't being serious’ when he recently told two reporters that he ‘can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning [down] journalists.’”
And how about the timing of that, er, clarification? “Yiannopoulos's comments Thursday came shortly after a gunman opened fire in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md., leaving at least five people dead and several others seriously injured”. Well, well.
Get out of that, then. And Yiannopoulos did just that with a typical self-pitying outburst. “‘You’re about to see a raft of news stories claiming that I am responsible for inspiring the deaths of journalists,’ Yiannopoulos wrote in a Facebook post. ‘The truth, as always, is the opposite of what the media tells you.’” It isn’t It really isn’t.
When Yiannopoulos makes those statements and claims, he does so because he wants to be provocative, and knows they will be published somewhere. He has no excuse. And nor has the collective idiocy at UKIP, who can now help with ownership of that.
Damn you Milo Yiannopoulos, damn your cretinous and leeching behaviour, damn your fellow vermin who enabled you, and damn you Neil Hamilton for legitimising this creep.
Milo Yiannopoulos now has a body count. And so does UKIP. That is all.
5 comments:
Stochastic terrorism.
UKIP already had one: Jo Cox.
But, they were "Private messages"! Sent to journalists who had asked for a comment - how was he to know they were going to quote him? The poor chap has never had dealings with the media before.
Dear oh dear, surely its time the police felt Milo's collar and nicked him for his threats and let the courts deal with his inflammatory behaviour.
He claims it was 'a troll'. The way he put it makes it appear that he is admitting to being the troll, rather than blaming it on a troll, which only goes to prove what people might already believe about him.
He also asks 'whether you think I’m “disgraced, irrelevant and over” or “so dangerous I inspire mass shootings.” I can’t be both'. I guess he forgets the deranged lunatic fringe who - for example - are the kind of morons who can see a simple song as a call to armageddon (Helter Skelter by the Beatles, anyone?).
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