by WorldTribune Staff, June 15, 2017
A ‘Business Insiderprofile on AOL news of James Hodgkinson, who allegedly carried out the attack on Republican members of Congress at a June 14 practice’ for a charity baseball game, paints the picture of a “very mellow” business owner who “stayed up late” talking politics and whose alleged actions were “totally out of the blue.”
“I knew he was a Democrat, a pretty hardcore one. I know he wasn’t happy when Trump got elected but he seemed like a nice enough guy,” one neighbor of the Illinois man said, according to the profile written by Business Insider’s Michelle Mark.
Not mentioned: That Hodgkinson, according to witnesses, specifically asked whether the players on the field were Republicans or Democrats before getting an assault rifle and firing off some 100 rounds.
Mark wrote that “the 66-year-old Belleville, Illinois, man owned a home inspection business and appeared to be a fervent supporter of progressive politics and a Trump critic.”
Not mentioned: That, on March 22, Hodgkinson posted to a Change.org petition that “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”
Mark’s profile noted that Hodgkinson’s brother, Michael, told The New York Times that the alleged gunman “wasn’t happy with the way things were going, the election results and stuff” and that the attack was “totally out of the blue.”
“Michael said he wasn’t close with his brother, but said James was politically active and led a regular life,” Mark wrote.
Not mentioned: A June 8 social media post by Hodgkinson where he refers to Karen Handel, the Republican candidate for Georgia’s open 6th Congressional District seat.
Hodgkinson wrote above a photo of Handel: “Republican Bitch Wants People to Work for Slave Wages, when a Livable Wage is the Only Way to Go! Vote Blue, It’s Right for You!”
The AOL profile noted that “Charles Orear, an acquaintance of Hodgkinson who said he campaigned with him for (Bernie) Sanders, told The Washington Post that Hodgkinson was a ‘quiet guy’ who was ‘very mellow, very reserved.’ ”
Not mentioned: In 2002, according to police records, Hodgkinson became the foster father of a girl whom he allegedly abused. In 2006, Hodgkinson was “observed throwing” his daughter “around the bedroom,” a police report said. After the girl broke free, Hodgkinson followed and “started hitting her arms, pulling her hair, and started grabbing her off the bed.”
A witness of the 2006 incident told police that “according to his foster daughter, he was always angry” and had punched his foster daughter’s then 19-year-old friend Aimee Moreland “in the face with a closed fist.”
What was mentioned of the 2006 incident in the AOL profile was that, “court records show that Hodgkinson has been arrested on charges of battery and aiding damage to a motor vehicle in 2006. The charges were dismissed.”
Not mentioned: The charges were dismissed after Moreland “got her dates ‘mixed up’ and failed to appear on time for a second court date,” The Daily Beast reported.
Also not mentioned: The Daily Beast reported that, when she heard the news of Hodgkinson’s alleged attack on June 14, Moreland said: “It sounds really awful, but I’m not surprised. Every interaction I’ve had I’ve thought, ‘that guy’s crazy.’ ”
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