A Colorado man allegedly attacked a television news reporter after asking if he was a citizen, saying, “This is Trump’s America now,” court documents show, as reported by the Associated Press.
The AP reported that the man, Patrick Thomas Egan, could be facing bias-motivated charges after being arrested on Dec. 18 in Grand Junction, Colo.
He was arrested on suspicion of bias-motivated crimes, second-degree assault and harassment, the AP said. Egan is supposed to appear in court next week to see if formal charges have been filed.
Police said Egan, 39, followed KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex’s vehicle, who later told police that he believed he was targeted because he is Pacific Islander, the AP wrote.
The arrest affidavit said that after Egan arrived via a taxi, he pulled up next to Alex at a stoplight. The affidavit also noted, as reported by AP, that Egan had said something like, “Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!”
The AP said that court documents noted that Alex was out reporting and later drove back to his newsroom. After getting out of his vehicle, Egan allegedly chased Alex and demanded identification, documents showed, as reported by the AP. The affidavit described Egan as tackling Alex and putting him in a headlock before Egan “began to strangle him,” causing coworkers to run out and help.
According to the documents, witnesses said Alex looked like he was struggling to breathe during the attack, which was caught on surveillance, the AP reported.
The Hill has contacted the KKCO newsroom for comment. Egan’s lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
