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Miller security guards handcuff journalist
Anchorage Daily News ^ | October 17th, 2010 11:56 PM | RICHARD MAUER

Posted on 10/18/2010 5:06:06 AM PDT by thackney

The editor of the Alaska Dispatch website was arrested by U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller's private security guards Sunday as the editor attempted to interview Miller at the end of a public event in an Anchorage school.

Tony Hopfinger was handcuffed by the guards and detained in a hallway at Central Middle School until Anchorage police came and told the guards to release Hopfinger.

Hopfinger has not been charged but the owner of the Drop Zone, the private security firm that's been providing Miller's security, accused Hopfinger of trespassing at the public event, a town hall sponsored by the Miller campaign. The owner, William Fulton, also said Hopfinger assaulted a man by shoving him.

Anchorage Police who responded to the call said they would leave it to the District Attorney's office to decide whether to prosecute. They spent more than an hour taking statements, then left.

Hopfinger, who was holding a small video camera, said he was attempting to draw out a statement from Miller on why he was disciplined by the Fairbanks North Star Borough when Miller worked there as a part-time attorney. After Miller walked away, Hopfinger said, he was surrounded by Miller supporters and security guards and felt threatened, so he pushed one of them away.

Fulton said the man shoved by Hopfinger was not hurt.

Hopfinger said that after he shoved the man away, the guards grabbed him, cuffed his hands behind his back with steel handcuffs and sat him in a chair in the school hallway, Hopfinger said.

One of the guards grabbed Hopfinger's video camera. Later, Hopfinger said that when he got the camera back, the segment covering the span of the arrest was missing. An Anchorage police officer offered to take the camera into custody...

(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Alaska
KEYWORDS: elections; miller
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1 posted on 10/18/2010 5:06:09 AM PDT by thackney
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To: thackney
Anchorage Police who responded to the call said they would leave it to the District Attorney's office to decide whether to prosecute.

And the editor will consult with his attorneys about filing a civil suit against these @$$holes!

2 posted on 10/18/2010 5:09:14 AM PDT by BullDog108 ("There is no way to refudiate her strategery, so they misunderestimate her.")
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: thackney
Was this another "public town-hall" where recording was prohibited?
4 posted on 10/18/2010 5:09:49 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This post is not a statement of fact. It is merely a personal opinion -- or humor -- or both.)
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Liberal Blogger “Loses It” at Town Hall Meeting
http://joemiller.us/2010/10/liberal-blogger-loses-it-at-town-hall-meeting/

Obsession with Republican Nominee leads to physical assault, publicity stunt
Anchorage, Alaska. October 17, 2010 — Joe Miller released the following statement:

“While I’ve gotten used to the blog Alaska Dispatch’s assault on me and my family, I never thought that it would lead to a physical assault. It’s too bad that this blogger would take advantage of a “Town Hall” meeting to create a publicity stunt just two weeks before the election.”

The Miller campaign was required by the facility to provide security at the event. Even though Joe had spent nearly an hour freely answering questions from those in attendance, the blogger chased Miller to the exit after the event concluded in an attempt to create and then record a ‘confrontation’ with the candidate. While Miller attempted to calmly exit the facility, the blogger physically assaulted another individual and made threatening gestures and movements towards the candidate. At that point the security personnel had to take action and intervened and detained the irrational blogger, whose anger overcame him. It is also important to note that the security personnel did not know that the individual they detained was a blogger who reporting on the campaign. To them, the blogger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.


5 posted on 10/18/2010 5:10:14 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: BenLurkin

No.


6 posted on 10/18/2010 5:11:15 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: BullDog108
You might want to learn more about Tony Hopfinger.

I believe you have the right description for the wrong side of the confrontation.

7 posted on 10/18/2010 5:12:50 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: thackney
I was feeling disgust towards Miller until I got to this part buried in the story:

After Miller walked away, Hopfinger said, he was surrounded by Miller supporters and security guards and felt threatened, so he pushed one of them away.

IOW, he wasn't handcuffed because he was "trespassing at the public event"

8 posted on 10/18/2010 5:13:28 AM PDT by Tribune7 (The Democrat Party is not a political organization but a religious cult.)
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To: thackney

When conservatives were getting beaten and hospitalized by SEIU thugs at townhalls, there were NEVER any news stories, but let one commie get handcuffed by security after assaulting someone; the journalists jump in to blame the candidate.


9 posted on 10/18/2010 5:23:50 AM PDT by vikingd00d (chown -R us ./base)
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To: thackney

Put all those “journalists” in jail & Country will be better off.


10 posted on 10/18/2010 5:24:29 AM PDT by anita
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To: anita
Impeach the putz president and the country will be better off.

Liar = Obama.

Cheater = Feds.

Thief = Congress.

Con artist = Piss-Stream Media.

Throw 'em all out.

obama-jail-7sm
Obama jail

11 posted on 10/18/2010 5:29:49 AM PDT by BobP (The piss-stream media - Never to be watched again in my house)
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To: thackney
the blogger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.

Most of them are.

12 posted on 10/18/2010 5:48:50 AM PDT by humblegunner (Pablo is very wily)
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To: BenLurkin

trolling here .

this fellow troll runs a one man Palin hating website and has been stalking Miller with a camera looking for trouble .


13 posted on 10/18/2010 6:03:47 AM PDT by ncalburt (Even)
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To: humblegunner
Former Senator George Allen needed better security ~ as it was Macaca boy got too close and the Senator began seeing to it himself ~ much to his ultimate distress.

What I've always wondered is why Allen's "security team" wasn't up on the latest in dangerous situations involving guys with video cameras. Earlier ~ Ahmad Shah Massoud had been assassinated by a team of Taliban sponsored "journolists" who got a bomb on the scene inside a video camera.

Another Pakistani-type fellow up in Quebec wearing the same hairdo as Macaca boy pulled a pistol and began shooting people on a downtown street in Montreal.

Allen would still be a senator if Macaca had been hauled away early, and kudos to candidate Miller's guys for recognizing the risk this particular blogger presented to life and limb.

Does anyone know if this guy has an affiliation with the Washington Post?

14 posted on 10/18/2010 6:04:54 AM PDT by muawiyah ("GIT OUT THE WAY" The Republicans are coming)
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To: BullDog108
this Dem troll runs a Palin hater website .
this is the troll that spread the Palin divorce scam story to the media .
he is funded by a DC lefty .

he has been trying to provoke a Macca moment from Miller.

15 posted on 10/18/2010 6:07:21 AM PDT by ncalburt (Even)
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To: thackney

OK, thanks for the heads-up. I do not know the background at all.


16 posted on 10/18/2010 6:09:56 AM PDT by BullDog108 ("There is no way to refudiate her strategery, so they misunderestimate her.")
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To: muawiyah
His website is funded by a retired DC leftist CFO from US News report. Someone posted that info last night.

Its a Palin hater website and this clown and his wife were the one’s spreading the false palin divorce story until they got told to stop it.

17 posted on 10/18/2010 6:11:14 AM PDT by ncalburt (Even)
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To: muawiyah

I do not think so.

Here is some background info:

http://community.adn.com/node/136902


18 posted on 10/18/2010 6:11:27 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: ncalburt

Thanks. I didn’t either read the story OR understand who the players are. Me bad.


19 posted on 10/18/2010 6:12:20 AM PDT by BullDog108 ("There is no way to refudiate her strategery, so they misunderestimate her.")
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To: humblegunner
the blogger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.

Most of them are.

Particularly if they think or know that their victim won't fight back.

20 posted on 10/18/2010 6:25:05 AM PDT by sport
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