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Tucson Shooting Survivor Arrested At Taping Of ABC’s ‘This Week’ For Threatening Tea Party Founder

by on Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 9:53 pm EDT in Politics

ABC’s ‘This Week’ with Christiane Amanpour shot a ‘Town Hall’ meeting today called “Tragedy in Tucson: An American Conversation Continued” (to be aired Sunday Morning) where survivors, witnesses and first responders of the massacre were reunited.  Towards the end of the otherwise sad and emotional event, as was described by AZ Central, Amanpour brought up the touchy issue of gun control.

ABC – Channel 9 reported that the topic brought a well known Tucson Tea Partier to his feet which stirred up tensions with survivor Eric Fuller:

When Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries rose to suggest that any conversation about gun control should be put off until after the funerals for all the victims, witnesses say Fuller became agitated. Two told KGUN9 News that finally, Fuller took a picture of Humphries, and said, “You’re dead.”

When State Rep. Terri Proud (R-Tucson) rose to explain and clarify current and proposed gun legislation in the state, several people groaned or booed her. One of those booing, according to several witnesses, was Fuller. Witnesses sitting near Fuller told KGUN9 News that Fuller was making them feel very uncomfortable.

The police escorted Fuller outside, and he screamed at the audience, “You whores!”  Capt. Byron Gwaltney of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that Fuller was arrested and charged with one count of threats and intimidation, as well as with disorderly conduct.

So Fuller, a 63 year old shooting victim, who is obviously burdened with unimaginable grief and anger after having barely survived a massacre, gets arrested for merely flipping his lid on the topic of gun control?  He’d just been shot by a psychopath for Christ’s sake! — AND for saying something “inappropriate” to a Tea Party founder?  The Tea Partiers’ inappropriate rhetoric likely helped to incite this killing spree!

Yesterday, Eric Fuller described the shooting in vivid detail to Amy Goodman of DemocracyNow!  He created some controversy during that interview, when he stated:

“How many other demented people are out there?

It looks like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the rest got their first target. Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled.  Senseless hatred leading to murder.  Lunatic fringe anarchism subscribed to by John Boehner …”

WATCH the DemocracyNow! interview here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q17gZIcwnAw[/youtube]