Angry Mob Targets Tucker Carlson's Private Residence

Tucker Carlson changed my life.

On December 20, 2009, I got an unsolicited e-mail from somebody purporting to be the bowtied fellow who got called out by Jon Stewart that one time. This person, using Tucker Carlson’s name, wanted to know if I could meet him to talk about a job offer. I assumed it was some sort of prank, of course. Why the hell would a TV pundit want to talk to an obscure, pseudonymous flyover blogger like me? This Tucker Carlson impostor said he could fly me to D.C. to talk about it, or if I preferred, he could fly out to meet me, wherever I was. Knowing in my heart that it was some sort of cruel prank, I called the hoaxster’s bluff. I replied that yeah, sure, he could fly out to Indianapolis and I’d meet him at the airport. I figured that would be the end of it. Joke’s over, right?

That was not the end of it. Less than 24 hours later, I was sitting across from Carlson at a Starbucks in the Indianapolis International Airport, and he was asking me to work for him. Starting immediately.

“Actually, why don’t we go meet everybody right now? I’ll fly you back with me to Washington and you can come see the offices we’re setting up. Everyone would love to meet you.”

And that’s what happened. Tucker basically kidnapped me. I accepted the job, of course. Within a month, I’d moved to Washington, D.C. and was there for the launch of the Daily Caller on January 11, 2010. I worked at the DC for almost eight years, and it was the best job I’ve ever had. I’d still be working there today if it were up to me, but that’s another story.

Tucker Carlson flew halfway across the country on a moment’s notice to hire a guy whose real name he didn’t even know. He launched me from complete obscurity to somewhat less complete obscurity, just because he liked my blogging. I’d think it was crazy, if it hadn’t happened to me. Actually, I still think it’s crazy. I am eternally grateful that the man is out of his mind.

He also helped me soon after my arrival in D.C., when I was struck down and severely injured by a State Department SUV. He pushed my wheelchair through slushy D.C. sidewalks to go see a lawyer he recommended, who eventually got me a settlement. I couldn’t have gotten through that whole ordeal without Tucker. He was my boss, and he was and is my friend.

So, the following news makes me very, very angry. Peter Hasson, writing at my old haunt, the Daily Caller:

A left-wing mob showed up outside Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s house Wednesday evening, posted pictures of his address online and demanded that he flee the city of Washington, D.C.

Carlson, a co-founder of The Daily Caller and host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” was at the Fox News studio when the angry crowd showed up outside of his house…

Video the group, “Smash Racism DC,” posted to Twitter shows one of the mob’s ringleaders leading the crowd in chants of “racist scumbag, leave town!” and “Tucker Carlson, we will fight! We know where you sleep at night!”

Here are a few of the tweets and the video that Smash Racism DC posted to Twitter before their account was suspended:

“You can’t hide. You’re not safe. We know where you sleep.” But don’t call these people an angry mob, right?

Now, how much of an actual threat are these morons? The guy with the megaphone sounds like he barely has the upper-body strength to hold up a megaphone. But their intent is clear: intimidation. If you say things they don’t like, they’ll find out where you live. They’ll stand outside your house, yelling and screaming. If they can’t convince people you’re wrong, they’ll just try to stop you from speaking altogether. “Anti-fascist” now means “extra-fascist.”

This is an escalation from this lefty group’s previous “success,” yelling at Ted Cruz in a restaurant. At least that was a semi-public place. At least they didn’t go to Cruz’s private residence.

Yet.

You can go ahead and hate Tucker, or any other pundit, for any reason you want. I don’t agree with him on everything either. That doesn’t mean you need to be standing outside his house, threatening him and his family. I wouldn’t do it to Jim Acosta or Chris Hayes or any other talking head I don’t like.

It’s okay to be angry that you’ve failed, lefties, but when you bring that anger directly to a conservative’s doorstep, you might not like the response you get.

As you’re so fond of pointing out, we’re the guys with all the guns.

P.S. These idiots weren’t just chanting, apparently. Allyson Chiu, WaPo:

“I called my wife,” Carlson told The Washington Post in a phone interview. “She had been in the kitchen alone getting ready to go to dinner and she heard pounding on the front door and screaming. … Someone started throwing himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door…”