A Donald Trump supporter was charged last Thursday after he allegedly tracked a Pacific Islander reporter for almost 40 miles, following which he confronted him. Patrick Thomas Egan, 39, a Colorado resident, then attacked the KKCO News reporter, Ja’Ronn Alex, demanding to know if he was a US citizen while repeatedly telling him “This is Trump’s world.”
Patrick Egan allegedly tracked Ja’Ronn Alex for over 40 miles to the latter’s news station, persistently asking him for his identification while repeatedly telling him that he was a marine. The accused also spoke of Donald Trump multiple times. Upon reaching the station, Egan allegedly attacked Alex and put him in a headlock after which many KKCO News employees rushed to separate the two men. Egan is said to have choked Alex for up to 90 seconds, leaving the reporter’s face all red. He was arrested and booked at Mesa County Jail and is being held under a $20,000 bond,
Patrick Egan was charged with one count each of second-degree assault with intent to cause bodily injury by strangulation, felony committing a bias-motivated crime, and misdemeanor harassment by ethnic intimidation. The affidavit against Egan explains the incident as Alex recalls his attacker’s remarks, “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!”
Patrick Thomas Egan was arrested for attacking Ja’Ronn Alex who was in his TV news vehicle after saying, “Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump’s America now!” Egan followed Alex for 40 miles, then tackled & strangled him in the parking lot where coworkers intervened. pic.twitter.com/IF8JBjXuYI
— Fly Sistah 🪷 (@Fly_Sistah) December 29, 2024
The judge assigned with the case has now reportedly refused to lower the bond for Egan, a veteran marine and a fan of the President-elect, as they believe that the attack was racially motivated. Egan could be facing up to six years in prison if found guilty. Judge Jennilynn Lawrence of the 21st Judicial District declined to lower the bail, claiming that she was more inclined to increase the amount for an act this unbearable.
I was fully prepared to increase your bond today. Certainly, I think when you are in your right mind, you would know these are not the types of behaviors we would expect of Marines, and similarly they are not the types of behaviors we can have in the community.
With no changes to the bond, the judge ordered that Egan must be prohibited from possessing firearms and must stay 1,000 feet away from Alex, should he be released. She further added, “If you are in a place and you see reporters, you should probably remove yourself.”
This came after public defender Ruth Swift spoke about Egan’s long history of struggle with mental health and asked for the proper treatment that his client deserves.
While Egan is behind bars, having more or less voiced his unwavering support for Donald Trump, the latter has given up any relation with the incident as Trump’s communication director has reportedly said that the incident had “nothing to do” with the soon-to-be president. “Anyone trying to make a false and disgusting equivalency is simply trying to use race as a way to further divide the country,” he said.
The attack by Patrick Egan comes right after Donald Trump announced his mass deportation plan, which has been catching heat from everywhere. For those unaware, Donald Trump is said to be gearing up to spend almost $100 billion on a massive plan under which he is expected to remove almost 11 million unaccounted immigrants.