Secret Service: No One Shouted 'Kill Him' at McCain Rally

Little Green Footballs ^ | Oct 16, 2008 | Charles Johnson

[Presbyterian Reporter]

If you need any more evidence that you cannot trust the media in this election, here you go.

All week, every media organization in America has been endlessly repeating that someone shouted “Kill him” at a Sarah Palin rally when Barack Obama’s name was mentioned. As Jake Tapper might say, they were all “atwitter” about it, and used this incident to promote the view that McCain and Palin were deliberately inciting “dangerous extremism.”

Just one little problem. The Secret Service investigated the incident, interviewed security agents and dozens of audience members, and the only person in that whole crowd who heard “Kill him” was ... the reporter, David Singleton of the Scranton Times-Tribune.

It’s a phony story.

Secret Service says ‘Kill him’ allegation unfounded.

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.”

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Surprise, surprise!!!!!

The Mainstream Media (MSM) once again promotes a fabrication by one of its members in their crusade to tear down McCain.

I am not holding my breath waiting to read or hear a correction and apology by MSM.

It was only four years ago that CBS’ Dan Rather who promoted the “false, but I believed it true” letter intended to derail GW Bush.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Fake but accurate ?

[Tarpon]

And the single drive by journalist who wrote the story ...

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Everyone knows the Secret Service are Republican plants, are on the payroll of big oil, and moonlight as union busters on their days off. The checks come from offshore subsidiaries of Halliburton or Blackwater or Kellogg, Brown, Root and go to Swiss bank accounts but are denominated in yen. Any time they are not protecting the president or Chelsea Clinton, they go out and destroy solar cells and make moonshine liquor from ethanol plants so the Treasury department can run stings on illicit stills.

[mojito]

Really? A phony, fabricated story about dangerous mobs of Republican racists?

But the New York Times said it was true. Olbermann said it was true.

They wouldn't lie. They don't have an anti-American, hate-spewing agenda.

And even if no one really said “kill him” we know, deep in our smug little hearts filled with truth and goodness, that all those evil Republicans were thinking it. So, we're fully justified in saying it.

[hsrazorback1]

But HUSSIEN said it, so it must be true. There’s no way it can be a lie. [/s]

[Tublecane]

The worst thing about it is that the MSM will not have to appoligize. They’ll say they were simply reporting on the newsworthiness of the opinions of some random people (e.g., that civil rights “icon,” whatever his name is). That’s why reporters always use the phrase, “Some say...” or, “According to...”

[RogerWilko]

That's funny... I see stories all over the DUmmiesphere about someone yelling "kill him" and not a ONE story about it being falsely reported!

That's very peculiar... NOT!!

[A.A. Cunningham]

Surprise, surprise!!!!!

Not a surprise at all.

[Loyolas Mattman]

Are they sure the writer’s name wasn’t Scott Templeton?

(Fans of “The Wire” will know what I’m talking about...)

[Dr_Zinj]

If true, that paper should probably fire him for gravely unethical behavior and the news industry should black ball him for life.

[wac3rd]

Sickness.

[Diogenesis]

Jim Lehrer (Disgraced PBS, Democrat): "At PBS, we follow DNC scripting to ignore that the top Palin Troopergate Investigator was a Phony Marine
and to ignore that Obama's Odinga atrocities in Kenya that left thousands murdered and raped,
and that David Singleton and the Scranton Times-Tribune conspired a fake story disproven by the Secret Service.
But then, we ignore own financial entanglements, don't we? Speaking of which,
how many of Gwen Ifill's book on Obama's upcoming January 2009 Coronation-Inauguration would you like?"

[savedbygrace]

The original story is here:

http://www.scrantontimes.com/articles/2008/10/15/news/doc48f4ba8994588930223377.txt

Note that Singleton hears “Kill him” during Chris Hackett’s remarks at about 1:25pm, and Gov Palin doesn’t arrive until 1:56pm. Even if the shouted remark had happened, she wouldn’t have heard it.

But it didn’t happen.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

The FBI ought to ask the reporter whom he heard yell “Kill him!” in response to Obama’s name being said. They should videotape his response. Then they should arrest him for making a false claim of a crime that must be investigated. It would serve that sonuvab1tch to do some hard time in a federal prison with a target painted on the seat of his pants.

[ONTHEFIFTY]

wonder what Mary Mapes is upto these days?

[Khepri]

If true, that paper should probably fire him for gravely unethical behavior and the news industry should black ball him for life.

You said "black"



If Obama gets in that's what we have to look forward to...believe me. I was in Chicago when "Mayor" Washington was elected. The behavior coming out of that community was over the top. Think Rev. Wright.