One self-styled journalist describes the harassment as 'an intelligence-gathering mission.' Desirée Townsend, a self-styled 'evidentiary journalist,' stakes out the Washington home of Sen. Mitch Mc Connell (R., Ky.), often filming mere steps from the front door. Even security measures around Mr. Mc Connell, who has faced death threats, appear reportable.
Last month she filmed a support aide entering the garage-door code, posting the footage to social media with the aide's name. The video went viral on X before deletion. Later that day, Mr. Mc Connell attended his first Senate vote since a June hospital stay.
A police barricade separated him from Ms. Townsend and other spectators. Townsend isn't alone; for months, political agitators claiming to be journalists have pursued Mr. Mc Connell, who has fewer than 100 days remaining in the Senate. Their modus operandi: record everything, bark questions at passersby, and upload 'evidence' to social media.
Some fed conspiracies that Mr. Mc Connell had died and his staff covered it up. Videos show congressional aides, associates, health staff, his wife Elaine Chao, and even men holding carpet samples. Senate aides described agitators testing legal limits, often following staff without protective details to their cars.
In one incident, Gateway Pundit employee Myles Morell got close to a Mc Connell aide, who accused Mr. Morell of touching him. Mr. Morell, who has a press credential, denied touching the aide. He said he films staff to 'let them know that they are being watched.' He also accused Mc Connell staff of attracting mosquitoes to attack people outside, claiming he tested this theory by comparing mosquito numbers at other homes. The practice, Ms. Townsend defends as 'legitimate' reporting, presents staff faces as evidence in what she calls a 'court case,' though critics argue it subjects personal life to unrelenting online mob surveillance.
উৎস: Wall Street Journal US Business · সারাংশ: HeadlinesBriefing