Following Fox's violent rhetoric, mother blames network for son's alleged Pelosi threats

[bridgit]

Following the arrest of Gregory Giusti for allegedly threatening Speaker Nancy Pelosi's life over health care reform, Giusti's mother stated that Fox News was a factor in her son's alleged actions. In the wake of this incident, Media Matters for America takes a look back at Fox News' recent history of violent rhetoric and the apocalyptic language the network's employees used to describe the then-impending passage of health care reform.

Mother of man accused of threatening Pelosi blames Fox News

From an April 7 broadcast by ABC's San Francisco affiliate, KGO-TV:

ELEANOR GIUSTI: Greg has -- frequently gets in with a group of people that have really radical ideas and that are not consistent with myself or the rest of the family and -- which gets him into problems. And apparently I would say this must be another one that somehow he's gotten onto either by -- I'd say Fox News or all of those that are really radical, and he -- that's where he comes from.

Gregory Giusti allegedly "made dozens of calls" to Pelosi threatening her not to support health care reform. On April 7, Los Angeles Times reported that following Gregory Giusti's arrest: "Several federal officials say the man made dozens of calls to Pelosi's homes in California and Washington, D.C., and to her husband's business office. The suspect allegedly recited her home address and said that if she wanted to see it again, she should not support the healthcare overhaul bill that was recently signed."

Fox News figures tell viewers to "grab a torch" and use other violent rhetoric Beck talks about "put poison" in Pelosi's wine. Glenn Beck stated:

BECK: So, Speaker Pelosi, I just wanted to -- you gonna drink your wine? Are you blind? Do those eyes not work? There you -- I want you to drink it now. Drink it. Drink it. Drink it.

I really just wanted to thank you for having me over here to wine country. You know, to be invited, I thought I had to be a major Democratic donor or a longtime friend of yours, which I'm not.

By the way, I put poison in your -- no, I -- I look forward to all the policy discussions that we're supposed to have -- you know, on health care, energy reform, and the economy.

http://mediamatters.org/research/201004070061

[Xenotime]

1. Anything we can do to shut down Faux is fine with me..

[The Wielding Truth]

9. Well if the person owning FOX is a foreigner and he is using mass

media to subvert a constitutional government,it would be an act of overthrowing our government. Can that be stopped? Is that illegal?

[glinda]

2. Am waiting for the mother to get death threats now.

[lpbk2713]

5. It will surely happen.

And quite likely some white powder in the mail ... with the address misspelled on the envelope.

[katanalori]

3. I am awaiting O'Reilly's goons to stalk her.

[Bobbie Jo]

4. Good. They're certainly complicit. nt

[RKP5637]

6. Murdock seems to feign little knowledge of Fox teabagger support, maybe this

too... is he trying to distance himself from Fox news and their incitement of violent acts...

[donco]

7. Any one want to bet on the

Chances of free republic poppin up on his favorites list?

[TomCADem]

8. Fox Should Just Keep A Running Kill Total

The murderer of Dr. Tiller. The anti-IRS 9/11 copycat. The list grows.

[Bluebear]

10. Their viewers would eat it up.

A running kill-o-meter of the liberals they so hate.

[Enrique]

11. that 83-year-old is gonna get some death threats now

I predict...

[bridgit]

12. Yep, just saw a court room drawing of the dude...looked like he was crying

Do all tea-nut-baggers whine & cry when they get tagged for being the violent misogynist bigots they are :cry:

[MadMaddie]

13. One of my right wing co-workers asked me today "what

is it about these people making threats to public figures"?? Sigh....here's the conversation...

Him: "why are these people making threats to public figures"??

Me: Well they are being incited

Him: "Who is inciting them"?

Me: Hmmm..how do I answer this without starting with Rush, Beck and Hannity? :think: "Are you familiar with the genocide that occurred in Rwanda"? I explain how it happened....blah..blah...blah..

Him: "Well that's not happening here"!

Me: "Actually it is happening here"! I then bring up Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity and the others and ask a simple question, "What is their responsiblity and culpability if someone acts on their "jokes" and kills someone?

Him: "Well everyone has the choice to turn the station it's not the radio stations fault if some crazy does something".

Okay I hope you are sitting down for the next part.....Sigh..

Him: "So you have a Democratic Congress that forces something on American people that don't want it on one side and then you have people walking the line really close to inciting violence, what's the difference?"

:crazy: :wtf: :grr:

At this point I don't even know what to say......I turn around and keep working....

[bridgit]

14. I hear you, "everyone (does not have) the choice to turn the station" because they are limited...

inside their heads and have little other option but to submit to the ravings of this RW hate-media propaganda machine - my sense is that they squirt and pee a little when WWF or cage fights splash across their TV screens too. But this utterly ignorant "Who is inciting them?" BS needs to be poked & popped like a balloon. You know they're going to be shitty, you know they will show their true colors cause those they already wear on their sleeve - it is time to let those chips fall where they may

[MadMaddie]

15. bridgit I have to agree with you

It really is not a matter of it it will happen, it's a matter of when it will happen. Who will be the innocent victims?

When it does happen let's see how they react. They will act like everyone should have seen the warning signs.....they never take any responsibility.

[Kievan Rus]

16. I'm really starting to think Faux is deliberately trying to push unstable people over the edge