James T. Hodgkinson is being described in the media as a (relatively) law abiding citizen. He supported Bernie Sanders in last year’s Presidential election and at the same time was a gun owner who (according to reports on a previous, un-prosecuted incident) owned one or more guns and was not afraid to use them when he felt that his family was being threatened in some way.

For some reason all that came undone and the owner of a small business turned assassin when he traveled to Washington DC and opened fire on the GOP Congressional baseball at their field on Alexandra, VA this morning. Reports said that he fired in the rang of 50 shots and hit 5 people including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.)

The gunman later died in custody after being wounded in a gun battle with law enforcement personnel. Because of this many questions will remain unanswered such as the path that led James T. Hodgkinson from patriotic business person to cold blooded (would be) killer. How is this attack by an American citizen ostensibly in support of one of our own political parties different from attacks by terrorists from the middle east? Both are using violence to try to advance an agenda.

I know that in cases of domestic terrorists people are hasty to lay the mental illness card but I think we have to accept that some people really do get too involved in politics. The same was true of other “patriot” organizations like the militias that were in the news a few years ago. Also, when the media (whether right wing talk show hosts or websites like Slate and Daily KOS and Mother Earth News) are constantly running end of the world type pieces every time their political “enemy” sneezes I think it can just keep on heaping fuel on the fire. “Inciting A Riot” is a real criminal offense and so why are we so quick to excuse the people in the media who do this very thing right up to when someone decides to throw the first brick or molotov cocktail or fire the first shot?

It will be interesting to see how this is handled in the media. Read below to find out!