John Jefferson
Left: Patrick Egan (Mesa County Sheriff’s Office). Right: President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
A man in Colorado who claimed to be a Marine allegedly attacked a television news reporter while demanding to know whether he was a U.S. citizen or not — telling him, “This is Trump’s America now” — before attempting to strangle him, according to police.
“I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!” shouted Patrick Egan during his alleged Dec. 18 attack on KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex in Grand Junction, per his arrest affidavit, which was obtained by the Associated Press and local media outlets this week.
“Are you even a U.S. citizen?” Egan allegedly asked.
“This is Trump’s America now!”
Egan, 39, is facing felony charges of bias-motivated crimes and second-degree assault by strangulation, along with a misdemeanor count of harassment by following and ethnic intimidation, for the attack. He was listed online Saturday as being eligible for release by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office after posting bond.
Egan was driving a taxi for a local company called Sunshine Rides when he allegedly tracked and followed Alex for roughly 40 miles to the joint NBC and ABC news station where he worked as a multimedia journalist for KKCO/KJCT.
Once there, police say Egan allegedly “tackled and choked” Alex before several of his co-workers stepped in to restrain Egan and help the reporter, according to a press release. Alex reportedly told police he thought he was assaulted because of his race — Pacific Islander.
“This type of behavior has no place in our society and I strongly condemn it,” Sunshine Rides General Manager Kelly Millan said in a statement to KKCO, the NBC affiliate for Grand Junction.
“I deeply regret the harm and disruption this has caused the victim, his family and co-workers,” Millan said. “Sunshine Rides has suspended Egan pending a full investigation, will assist law enforcement and will use this incident to re-emphasize our core values and expectations with our entire team.”
Alex told investigators he was out reporting before he went back to the news station. He said Egan started chasing him immediately after he exited his vehicle. He demanded to see Alex’s identification and allegedly “began to strangle him” after his Donald Trump reference, the arrest affidavit says. A portion of the attack was allegedly caught on surveillance video.
Alex is described in his KKCO bio as a native of Detroit, Michigan, and 2023 graduate of Clemson University who has resided in “various locations across the Eastern and Southern regions of the United States.”
Egan is due to appear in court on Jan. 2 for the filing of his charges.
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