An American man has allegedly threatened to gun down the employees of the popular American media outfit, Cable News Network (CNN).
The Washington Post reports that on Tuesday, January 9, an operator in Atlanta manning the public contact number for CNN received a phone call from a man launching a threat against CNN.
The male caller, according to a federal arrest affidavit unsealed on Monday, January 22, said:
“Fake news. I’m coming to gun you all down. F‑‑‑ you, f‑‑‑ing n‑‑‑‑‑s.” He then ended the call.
Three minutes later, the same caller, dialing from the same number, again rang the CNN line saying: “I am on my way right now to gun the f‑‑‑in’ CNN cast down. F‑‑‑ you.”
Thirty minutes later, the caller again reached the CNN line. He reportedly whispered his threats:
“I’m coming for you CNN. I’m smarter than you. More powerful than you. I have more guns than you. More manpower. Your cast is about to get gunned down in a matter of hours.”
The caller issuing the threats was later identified as one Brandon Griesemer by federal law enforcement.
In an arrest affidavit released on Monday, January 22, FBI agent Sean Callaghan stated: Griesemer “made approximately 22 total calls to CNN” between January 9 and January 10. Four of the calls resulted in threats. In the last message, the caller made disparaging remarks about Jewish individuals, before stating: “You are going down. I have a gun and I am coming to Georgia right now to go to the CNN headquarters to f‑‑‑ing gun every single last one of you. I have a team of people. It’s going to be great, man . . . You gotta get prepared for this one, buddy.”
Griesemer was later arrested on a charge of interstate communications with intent to extort, threaten or injure.
He reportedly made an initial appearance in court on Friday, January 19.
Griesemer is currently free on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
However, on the night of Monday, January 22, a man who identified himself as Griesemer’s father told The Washington Post that Griesemer’s call was a mistake and that he did not mean the threats.
He said: “This whole thing has been a mistake. He really didn’t mean any of it.”
“He didn’t know what he was saying, the seriousness of it. We’re not even gun owners or anything like that. We don’t have any, neither does he,”Griesemer’s father added.
Meanwhile, Griesemer’s threats were made public less than a week after President Donald Trump unveiled his “Fake News Awards.”
With President Trump’s frequent clashes with the press and his regular accusations against media outfits, the term ‘fake news’ has become a popular rallying cry among Trump’s supporters.
CNN particularly has been a regular target of Trump’s attacks.
President Trump has reportedly shared violent images featuring the cable news giant, including pictures of the CNN logo crushed under a shoe and a GIF of the president personally attacking the CNN logo.
CNN has since reacted to the threats. On the night of Monday, January 22, the media giant reportedly released a press statement about the threats.
The statement in part: “We take any threats to CNN employees or workplaces, around the world, extremely seriously. This one is no exception. We have been in touch with local and federal law enforcement throughout, and have taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our people.”
Previously Pope Francis denounced ‘fake news’ as evil and urged journalists to make it their mission to search for the truth.
The pope said the first case of fake news is in the Bible when Eve was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit based on disinformation from the serpent.
Comparing fake news to the serpent's message of temptation in the Bible, Pope Francis said: "We need to unmask what could be called the 'snake tactics' used by those who disguise themselves in order to strike at any time and place."
