My day in the courtroom of Judge John Roll, who lived and died in Arizona’s climate of hate

[Emit]

My day in the courtroom of Judge John Roll, who lived and died in Arizona’s climate of hate by Max Blumenthal

John Roll, the Chief Justice for the US District Court in Arizona, was among those killed this afternoon at a town hall with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. In February 2009, I testified as a prosecution witness in Roll’s courtroom in Tucson in a politically charged civil trial known as Vicente v. Barnett. I did not know at the time that Roll was living under a 24/7 protective detail because of hundreds of threats against him and his family as well as inflammatory rhetoric directed against him by right-wing elements.

A Republican appointee of President George H.W. Bush, Roll had certified a lawsuit against Roger Barnett, a local businessman who had become a posterboy of the national anti-immigrant movement for detaining over 12,000 Mexican migrants on a ranch he owned near the border. (...)

~snip~

Henry Solano, a former US Attorney from Colorado who now headed MALDEF, told me a little about Roll before it was my turn to testify: “He’s a conservative but he’s fair. And he is really tough, so make sure to answer everything directly.”

~snip~

As the trial proceeded, the threats against Roll poured in. Meanwhile, Barnett was portrayed as a victim hero by Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck, who hosted him for a friendly interview.”I don’t know what country I’m living in anymore,” Beck said to Barnett. “You have a right to protect your property.”

~snip~

http://maxblumenthal.com/2011/01/my-day-in-the-courtroom-of-judge-john-roll-who-lived-and-died-in-arizonas-climate-of-hate/

[Maat]

1. Max wrote a great piece there (n/t).

[eppur_se_muova]

2. But but but Loughner was a leftist! Why would he shoot a Republican-appointed conservative judge?

:sarcasm: <-- sadly, some people will need this

[Supersedeas]

3. Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck's attack on Judge Roll is going unnoticed by the M$M...no way