Virginia cop loses job after chief finds out he donated $25 to Kyle Rittenhouse legal fund



A Norfolk, Virginia, police officer is out of a job after having reportedly donated $25 to Kyle Rittenhouse's legal defense fund, the New York Daily News reported.

The Norfolk city manager announced the officer's departure in a Tuesday statement.

What are the details?

On Tuesday, Norfolk city manager Chip Filer announced that he accepted Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone's recommendation to terminate the employment of Lt. William Kelly.

The move came on the heels of a Guardian report that named police officers and public officials who donated to Rittenhouse's legal fund. The Guardian's report noted that a data breach at a Christian crowdfunding website revealed that officers and officials donated money to Rittenhouse's fund.

Rittenhouse is accused of two murders after having crossed state lines and shot protesters at an anti-police rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Kelly reportedly donated $25 to the fund using his department email address, and wrote a message of encouragement to Rittenhouse that read, "God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You've done nothing wrong. Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don't be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership."

In a lengthy statement, Filer said that the officer's actions were against department policies.

“His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve," Filer said in the statement. “The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we hold staff accountable."

In the statement, Boone added, "I want the residents of Norfolk to know that their police department will represent and uphold our organization values of Service, Honor, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Diversity. A police department cannot do its job when the public loses trust with those whose duty is it serve and protect them."

JUST IN: @NorfolkPD Lt. William Kelly has been "relieved of duty" - he's the officer accused of donating to Kyle R… https://t.co/SbWtBCE53m
— Dana Smith (@Dana Smith)1618946487.0

Utah ABC affiliate KTVX refuses to comment as reporter Jason Nguyen deletes tweets about harassing paramedic who donated $10 to Kyle Rittenhouse legal fund



A local ABC News affiliate in Salt Lake City has gone silent and is refusing to comment as one of its reporters deleted tweets about his doxxing and harassing of a local paramedic over his tiny donation to Kyle Rittenhouse's legal defense fund.

What are the details?

The news outlet, KTVX-TV, as well as its reporter, Jason Nguyen, failed to respond to numerous requests for comment by phone and email on Monday. TheBlaze reached out to the parties to ascertain whether they stood by their reporting in the face of harsh criticism and what their intention was in contacting the paramedic's employer.

Both the outlet and Nguyen were skewered online over the weekend over their decision to run a negative story on the paramedic who donated $10 to a defense fund for Rittenhouse, a teenage boy from Illinois facing controversial murder charges for his actions in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer.

As part of their coverage, Nguyen and a news crew approached the paramedic's home and started filming as they knocked on the door, reportedly hoping to "get his side of things."

In a subsequent article, KTVX-TV disclosed the name of the paramedic, Craig Shepherd, and aired footage from outside his home. The news outlet also contacted West Valley Fire Department, where Shepherd works, prompting the department to respond by saying it had launched "an investigation" into the contribution.

To make matters worse, the outlet admitted it obtained the information about Shepherd's donation via a data breach at the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, through which the donation was made. GiveSendGo describes itself as the "fastest-growing Christian crowdfunding site made by Christians for Christians."

What else?

Shortly after the story was published, commenters on social media blasted Nguyen and the news station for "stalking" and "harassing" a private citizen over his contribution.

Nguyen had posted a photo of him knocking on the paramedic's door on Twitter, but as of Tuesday morning, that tweet had been deleted, along with another tweet in which Nguyen reported that Shepherd's employer was conducting an investigation after Shepherd was "caught donating $10 ... using his government email."

In their place, Nguyen, obviously distressed by the backlash, posted another tweet, saying, "Thank you all for your opinions. We hear you and appreciate each and everyone of you for reaching out."

Thank you all for your opinions. We hear you and appreciate each and everyone of you for reaching out 🙏🏼
— Jason Nguyen (@Jason Nguyen)1618882280.0

But that didn't satisfy Nguyen's critics.

One commenter responded to Nguyen's tweet by saying, "You doxxed a private citizen, my dude. You're going to have to do much, much better than this."

Republican communicator Matt Whitlock added, "I do hope this isn't the last we'll hear about this episode from you and [KTVX-TV]. An apology/explanation would go a long way, it's just hard to see how this met any kind of editorial standards."

Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards joined the conversation, writing, "You engaged in one of the worst pieces of trash TV that I've ever seen. Your apology and the resignations of everyone involved in this story's approval and promotion should lead tonight's newscast."

Journalist slammed online for going to home of paramedic who donated $10 to Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense



A reporter is being skewered for visiting the home of a Utah paramedic who donated $10 to the legal defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse. The fire department where the paramedic works has launched an investigation following the report on the private citizen's donation.

There was a data breach at GiveSendGo, the self-described "fastest-growing Christian crowdfunding site made by Christians for Christians." One of the crowdfunding campaigns on GiveSendGo included Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot two people dead and wounded another during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

"The breach, shared with journalists by transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets, revealed the details of some donors who had previously attempted to conceal their identities using GiveSendGo's anonymity feature, but whose identifying details the website preserved," the Guardian reported.

Jason Nguyen, an ABC-affiliated KTVX news station out of Salt Lake City, used the data breach to find anyone nearby who donated to the Kyle Rittenhouse defense fund. The data breach showed that a Utah paramedic donated $10 to the defense fund.

Nguyen then went to the home of the paramedic, in what he says was "to get his side of things, but those inside the home didn't want to talk."

KTVX-TV ran an article about the paramedic and contacted the fire department that the man works at, which said they are "conducting an investigation into this matter," but admitted that "such a donation would be representative of personal actions" and none of the business of the fire department.

Nguyen posted a photo of the paramedic's house with him knocking at the front door.

The internet lambasted the journalist for "stalking" a private citizen, and some commentators claimed that Nguyen was attempting to doxx the paramedic. At the time of publication, there were over 7,200 comments on Nguyen's tweet.

Social commentator Mike Cernovich said, "Stalking is a crime."

Radio host Jason Rantz said, "Consider a new line of work."

Republican communicator Matt Whitlock added, "Wait showing up on a private citizens doorstep with cameras based on leaked information about private donations?! How is that appropriate?"

Data expert Justin Hart declared, "Well you're about the worst person in the world Jason. Go bother an elected official about their terrible response to COVID or something. Why are you harassing a private citizen. Agenda much?!"

Political commentator Stephen L. Miller advised, "If you don't like the enemy of the people label, perhaps stop acting like such."

Sen. Ted Cruz's national security adviser, Omri Ceren, delivered his analysis, "The transformation of newsrooms into political oppo shops - recognizably, with the infrastructure, tempo, ideological aims, tactics, and sensibility of oppo shops - is probably more of a symptom than a driver of our political moment. But as far that cluster of symptoms go, woof."

Podcast host Lauren Chen said, "This isn't journalism, this is stalking. Delete this, you psychopath."

Australian conservative opinion columnist Rita Panahi said, "Well deserved ratio & exhibit 6,399 on why trust in media is at historic lows."

New York Post op-ed editor Sohrab Ahmari proclaimed, "This is totalitarian thuggery masquerading as reporting, Jason. I'm ashmed that you and I are considered practitioners of a shared profession."

Pete D'Abrosca stated, "Very brave work you're doing tracking down private citizens and haranguing them about their spending habits! What would we do without you, Jason."

John Hawkins noted, "That's just straight harassment unsuccessfully masquerading as journalism."

A Twitter user directed Nguyen to investigate donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund that Vice President Kamala Harris told people to bail out rioters last summer.

One person tweeted, "This isn't investigative journalism. This is stalking, intimidation, and harassment."

Another person said, "This isn't journalism. This is activism."

One commentator wrote: "Hi Jason, you should be deeply ashamed of yourself and rethink what it means to he a journalist."

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald compared Nguyen harassing the paramedic to CNN doxxing an old lady for being in a pro-Trump Facebook group.

"Some journalists go to war zones. Some confront security state agencies and repressive regimes," Greenwald wrote. "Some uncover the fraudulent schemes of Wall Street tycoons. And then some bullies abuse the profession to harass and expose private, powerless people."

Some journalists go to war zones. Some confront security state agencies and repressive regimes. Some uncover the fr… https://t.co/cP5E49VNW3
— Glenn Greenwald (@Glenn Greenwald)1618777880.0