'Kill him' allegation unfounded
By Andrew M. Sederaseder@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
SCRANTON – The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Tuesday’s Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.
The Scranton Times-Tribune first reported the alleged incident on its Web site Tuesday and then again in its print edition Wednesday. The first story, written by reporter David Singleton, appeared with allegations that while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd and mentioned Obama’s name a man in the audience shouted “kill him."
News organizations including ABC, The Associated Press, The Washington Monthly and MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann reported the claim, with most attributing the allegations to the Times-Tribune story.
Agent Bill Slavoski said he was in the audience, along with an undisclosed number of additional secret service agents and other law enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.
“I was baffled,” he said after reading the report in Wednesday’s Times-Tribune.
He said the agency conducted an investigation Wednesday, after seeing the story, and could not find one person to corroborate the allegation other than Singleton.
Slavoski said more than 20 non-security agents were interviewed Wednesday, from news media to ordinary citizens in attendance at the rally for the Republican vice presidential candidate held at the Riverfront Sports Complex. He said Singleton was the only one to say he heard someone yell “kill him.”
“We have yet to find someone to back up the story,” Slavoski said. “We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it.”
Hackett said he did not hear the remark.
Slavoski said Singleton was interviewed Wednesday and stood by his story but couldn’t give a description of the man because he didn’t see him he only heard him.
When contacted Wednesday afternoon, Singleton referred questions to Times-Tribune Metro Editor Jeff Sonderman. Sonderman said, “We stand by the story. The facts reported are true and that’s really all there is.”
Slavoski said the agents take such threats or comments seriously and immediately opened an investigation but after due diligence “as far as we’re concerned it’s closed unless someone comes forward.” He urged anyone with knowledge of the alleged incident to call him at 346-5781. “We’ll run at all leads,” he said.
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Noooo....
Comment by Brooke— 2008/10/16 @ 08:43 AM — (Reply)
Comment by aza spade— 2008/10/16 @ 09:26 AM — (Reply)
Dana Milbank admitted only 'one or two' said anything..he wrote the Washington Post piece slamming Republicans for the actions of those few, making it sound like half the place was screaming these things..
ONE OR TWO and the world got whiff of it and made a BIG STINK.
Obama could say "Kill McCain", say it was "inartful" and they'd be complimenting him.
Comment by z— 2008/10/16 @ 04:38 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Ed— 2008/10/16 @ 05:13 PM — (Reply)
Comment by riffran— 2008/10/17 @ 01:42 AM — (Reply)
Comment by mos— 2008/10/17 @ 10:41 AM — (Reply)
Comment by aza spade— 2008/10/17 @ 10:43 AM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/17 @ 01:24 PM — (Reply)
CRASH AND BURN, AMERIKA! We ask the American and the western thinkers and scholars, the founders and advocates of the open market Capitalism, who for a long time been advocating the expansion of this system to all corners of the world under the exploitative slogans of democracy and republic, thus exploiting and plundering natural resources of almost half of the world, would the oppressed nations not bring you to justice for what you have done to them through your historical and diabolical economic exploitative cobweb of machinations that you were sucking their blood and eating their bones?
Do you not think that this crisis will not bring on you the same fate as of the former Soviet Union which also faced bankruptcy, omitting you resultantly from the surface of the map of the world?
The Afghan Muslims who like other countries citizens have been oppressed, tortured and have suffered as a result of American tyranny and illegal invasions are of the opinion that those days are not very far when this giant fiendish power will at first face economic crisis, then, its military power and cutting edge technology will fail in fiasco, along with its well equipped army and military barracks. This is an easy task for Allah (Swt) to do.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
{For more on the Taliban invasion of Amerika, please visit my blog}
Comment by Lyrical Terrorist— 2008/10/18 @ 01:21 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/18 @ 02:32 PM — (Reply)
BG
Comment by Barry G.— 2008/10/18 @ 01:47 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/18 @ 02:33 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/18 @ 02:34 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/18 @ 02:36 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/18 @ 03:04 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/18 @ 03:05 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/18 @ 05:30 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/18 @ 05:34 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Ed— 2008/10/19 @ 02:31 AM — (Reply)
you're right ed, I just us d him as an example
Comment by elmers brother — 2008/10/19 @ 04:46 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Ed— 2008/10/19 @ 05:16 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Julio— 2008/10/19 @ 06:30 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Julio— 2008/10/19 @ 06:40 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Julio— 2008/10/19 @ 06:44 AM — (Reply)
BRUSH UP ON YOUR FRENCH, EB: WHAT YOU MEANT TO SAY WAS "JIHADI MANQUE", not "FAUX JIHADI". OR, YOU COULD HAVE USED DIE DEUTSCH, "ERSATZ JIHADI". (I TOLD YOU A LONG TIME AGO ONE OF MY MUSLIM WIVES IS GERMAN). ACH! THE JOYS OF POLYGAMY AND BEING A POLYGLOT!
Comment by Car Bomb— 2008/10/19 @ 06:58 AM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/19 @ 06:58 AM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/19 @ 08:54 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Julio— 2008/10/19 @ 07:00 AM — (Reply)
MOTHERFUCKER, KEEP THINKING THAT WAY WHILE YOU WRITE OUT THE CHECK THAT PAYS FOR MY SALARY!
Comment by Fake Pino— 2008/10/19 @ 07:15 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Julio— 2008/10/19 @ 08:01 AM — (Reply)
Comment by riffran— 2008/10/19 @ 02:10 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/10/19 @ 02:13 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Ed— 2008/10/19 @ 02:48 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/19 @ 03:04 PM — (Reply)
jpino305p.history.kent.edu (Kent State University) [Label IP Address]
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Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/19 @ 03:07 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/19 @ 03:09 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Ed— 2008/10/19 @ 03:40 PM — (Reply)
I see you've been trying out a new whine, pinot sour.
It's definitely one of those taste and spit whines...
Comment by FJ— 2008/10/20 @ 03:08 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/20 @ 05:00 AM — (Reply)
Doesn't pass the smell test. Got it!
Comment by — 2008/10/20 @ 09:18 AM — (Reply)
Too bad you screwed that up.
Comment by Brooke— 2008/10/20 @ 07:50 AM — (Reply)
Comment by mos— 2008/10/22 @ 03:59 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/10/22 @ 04:05 AM — (Reply)