The Ringer chief Bill Simmons has accused President Trump of deliberately putting journalists and members of the media in danger in order to “deflect attention” from his own scandals.
“Our @POTUS is intentionally putting American media members in actual DANGER to deflect attention from his own wrongdoings,” Simmons tweeted on Thursday, with a tag at the official presidential Twitter handle.
“He has power and sway, he knows it, and he’s using that influence recklessly to threaten the free press. This is a real thing that’s happening in 2018.”
Our @POTUS is intentionally putting American media members in actual DANGER to deflect attention from his own wrongdoings.
He has power and sway, he knows it, and he’s using that influence recklessly to threaten the free press.
It’s unclear what prompted Simmons’ tweet and a representative for the sports columnist did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
Hours before, however, a California man was arrested by the FBI on charges of making several threatening phone calls to the Boston Globe. According to a press release from the bureau, Robert D. Chain, a 68-year-old resident of Encino, California is expected to appear in court today and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for a series of phone calls made between Aug. 10 and Aug. 22.
In some, according to the release, he issued death threats and called Globe reporters “enemies of the people” — echoing language President Trump has used to describe media outlets who displease him.
“Everyone has a right to express their opinion, but threatening to kill people, takes it over the line and will not be tolerated,” Harold H. Shaw, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said in a statement.
“Today’s arrest of Robert Chain should serve a warning to others, that making threats is not a prank, it’s a federal crime. All threats are taken seriously, as we never know if the subject behind the threat intends to follow through with their actions. Whether potentially hoax or not, each and every threat will be aggressively run to ground.”
ESPN alum Simmons, who is from Boston, began his own journalism career at the Boston Herald and went on to become known as “The Boston Sports Guy.”
Mike Cernovich, a Timeline: From Choking Advice to Pizzagate to Firings (Photos)
Maybe you'd never heard of right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich before last week, when he helped get James Gunn fired from the next "Guardians of the Galaxy" film by highlighting Gunn's old Twitter jokes about rape and pedophilia. But Cernovich himself has a long history online, filled with both successes and statements he has since distanced himself from -- for reasons that will be obvious.
Advice on Choking Women
Before gaining fame as a Trump superfan, Cernovich got his start in the men's rights and pick-up artist community. His advice column, published on his blog "Danger and Play," included suggestions on the proper way to "choke" women during sex. This entry from December 2011 has since been deleted: "Choking works because it’s a show of dominance. Women only want to have consensual sex with men they know could rape them."
Pizzagate
Cernovich first came to wide public attention over his promotion of a conspiracy theory during the 2016 election that suggested that a pedophile ring was being run out of the basement of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria. The story was bunk, and Cernovich has moved to distance himself from Pizzagate.
Will Sommer/Twitter
John Conyers
Cernovich's biggest score of all probably wasn't James Gunn, but John Conyers. A tip provided by Cernovich to BuzzFeed about accusations of sexual misconduct forced the Democrat to resign his seat in disgrace in December 2017.
Getty Images
Sam Seder
Mike Cernovich targeted the MSNBC contributor over a years-old joke about his daughter being raped. MSNBC dropped Seder in December 2017, but reinstated him after a public backlash.
MSNBC
Sopan Deb
Cernovich went after New York Times reporter Sopan Deb in March 2017 over a tweeted pun about the rapper Bow Wow. The incident earned Deb an official rebuke from the Times' then-public editor, Liz Spayd.
Josh Barro
In November 2017, Cernovich demanded an apology from Josh Barro after the Business Insider Senior Editor made fun of his lisp. Barro swiftly retreated.
Twitter
Perry Fein
In June 2018, Los Angeles Times freelancer Perry Fein slipped into Cernovich's DMs and wished harm upon him. His relationship with the newspaper was over just hours later.
Los Angeles Times Media Group
James Gunn
Last week, Cernovich helped lead an online campaign highlighting old tweets in which Gunn joked about rape about pedophilia. Gunn offered an apology, but was dropped by Disney from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise.
Getty Images
Cheri Jacobus
Before the James Gunn situation, Cernovich also led a brief and successful campaign to pressure USA Today to drop columnist Cheri Jacobus. The decision from the paper came after Jacobus' bizarre comments about convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Michael Ian Black
Cernovich has trained his fire on comedian Michael Ian Black, who has said several times on Twitter that his tweets about pedophilia were only jokes.
YouTube
Dan Harmon
Fresh off his victory in ousting Gunn from "Guardians of the Galaxy," Cernovich forced "Rick and Morty" co-creator Dan Harmon and his employers at Adult Swim to apologize over an old sketch that featured Harmon graphically simulating the rape of a baby. (The sketch used a doll, not an actual baby.)
Getty Images
1 of 12
The right-wing provocateur has become a thorn to liberals online
Maybe you'd never heard of right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich before last week, when he helped get James Gunn fired from the next "Guardians of the Galaxy" film by highlighting Gunn's old Twitter jokes about rape and pedophilia. But Cernovich himself has a long history online, filled with both successes and statements he has since distanced himself from -- for reasons that will be obvious.