On Sunday afternoon I attended the Joe Miller Town Hall and it was a good event until it ended. When I attend these events, although I support Miller, I will hold a critical eye.
I will also stay in the back to observe the audience to see their reaction and I will also watch how the press act.
What I found interesting was the interaction between Jill Burke and Tony Hopfinger.
Their assignment was -- Jill Burke was the photographer and Tony Hopfinger was the note-taker, and this was not an event for the press -- to cover this question and answer session between the people and Joe Miller.
Everything went smoothly until Joe left through the door near the stage and proceeded to walk down the hall to leave the building. Now, enter Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger getting in Joe Miller's face - and when I say getting in Joe Miller's face, I mean to the point of harassing Joe and impeding him from leaving the facility and having to turn around and leave in the other direction.
There was a scuffle between Tony and two of the security detail; the others left with Miller as he reversed his course.
Now enter Tony Hopfinger's account of what happened.
Hopfinger had been trying to ask Miller questions when two or three guards told him to leave or risk being charged with trespassing.
When Hopfinger continued to try to ask questions, one of the guards put the reporter in an arm-bar and then handcuffed him.
Hopfinger was released after police arrived.
The reporter was on public property where a public event was being held at the time of the incident.
Here is what actually happened: Hopfinger was aggressive in his pursuit. Miller's security was trying to keep Hopfinger from Miller's path and at a distance so Miller could leave. As Miller's security tried to push Hopfinger out of Miller's path and keep him at a distance, Hopfinger kept pushing in on Miller.
Miller then reversed course and as he did, Tony began to follow Miller. Two men in Miller's security detail stayed back and the scuffle between Hopfinger and the security detail began as a shoving match.
At that point Miller was gone from the scene.
In the photo above, you will see one individual in Miller's security detail on the right -- he is moving to where the scuffle between the other individual in Miller's security detail and Tony Hopfinger is taking place.
In a video here you will see where they moved down the hall and turned to the right near a vending machine.
That is where the two held Tony Hopfinger until the police came.
There comes a point to where a person passes the point of getting answers to then becoming a person who is harassing an individual. And Tony Hopfinger crossed the line when it was clear Miller changed his direction because of Hopfinger engaging Miller's security detail in what started off as a shoving match.
What I also found interesting was the set-up that took place between blogger Jesse Griffin, who when leaving was asking where Tony was. Notably, Griffin was with the individual who asked the question on why Miller was a Welfare Queen.
And leave it to political hacks like Andrew Halcro to say Miller ordered the arrest when Miller wasn't even there when the security team detained Hopfinger.
Like I said before, there comes a time when the press cross the line on getting questions answered and Tony Hopfinger crossed the line by pushing back and trying to hide behind the First Amendment.
Update: The Anchorage Daily News has an article with some interesting points:
Hopfinger, who was holding a small video camera, said he was attempting to draw out a statement from Miller on why he was disciplined by the Fairbanks North Star Borough when Miller worked there as a part-time attorney. After Miller walked away, Hopfinger said, he was surrounded by Miller supporters and security guards and felt threatened, so he pushed one of them away.
Hopfinger felt threatened? Don't think so - not when you get in a shoving match as he did.
It is then reported:
One of the guards grabbed Hopfinger's video camera. Later, Hopfinger said that when he got the camera back, the segment covering the span of the arrest was missing. An Anchorage police officer offered to take the camera into custody and have it examined in the crime lab to investigate whether evidence had been destroyed, but Hopfinger declined. He said he needed the camera and the remaining video for his work.
In the video link - you will hear Tony ask for his video camera - he didn't have it for the span of the arrest as reported in the article. And it is obvious what is taking place in the report when Hopfinger declines the Anchorage Police Department's offer to check to see if indeed the arrest had been erased from the camera.
Update: Does Tony Hopfinger have a thing for Joe's "private" life - as reported by KTUU -
Miller also claims Hopfinger followed him in to the bathroom before the town hall meeting. “I asked him one single question. I went to use the restroom. Mr. Miller was in there and I asked him if he was going to be able to make our debate,” said Hopfinger.
It was also reported on the Glenn Biegel show that Tony Hopfinger pushed an individual into the lockers - and the security team intervened. At this time, there is a story developing on who the individual is and if they feel safe enough to come forward - since it was also stated on the Glenn Biegel show that death threats have been made against the security detail.
Comments
AK Dispatch and the Showdown
The long arm of obama has been in Alaska for quite a while now. Joe will prevail, truth is on his side.
Hopefully, Alaskans will recognize the Saul Alinsky tactics of the Progressives and stand up for Joe against the two Progressives he's running against.
Shame on Lisa Murkowski for hiring Democrats to run her campaign. Oh, wait , she already named the Democrats as her favorite Senators, silly me, why wouldn't someone who votes like a Dem, admires Dems over Republicans, disagrees with the Tea Party Movement's platform and cannot accept she lost, not hire a Dem to run her campaign?
Video of Miller's security muscle battery on reporter
Why isn't this incident being called 'battery' and 'kidnapping'?
Um.
"this was not an event for the press - it was a question and answer between the people and Joe Miller."
Uh...so is the press not part of "the people" now? Was this blogger/journalist not a member of the public, covering an event of importance to Alaska voters?
The way I look at it, ANY public appearance a candidate for office makes (especially a candidate for national office such as the Senate) is a newsworthy event, and should be covered by the press.
This garbage has to stop. Many politicians of all stripes have undertaken these past several years to attempt to make public appearances circular self-pleasuring sessions. This is not healthy for the political life of America - when a politician makes it so that he can only hear from friendly supporters and sycophants, that's a critical, dangerous dilution of the process.
It creates and feeds a bubble mentality where these politicos only hear from people who agree with them, and deprives voters a chance to interact with those who stand for public election.
And why did Joe Miller say he won't answer any more questions about his character or previous actions? Sounds to me like he just wants to mouth platitudes and massage the egos of his supporters (and in turn have his own ego massaged)> Seems kinda shady to me. I thought character counts...?
Joe Miller
Jason, Joe Miller has answered ad nauseam the charges made against him. He has posted more of his papers and information about his background on his website than any candidate I can recall. Try visiting it.
Character does count. Character is made revealed by the sum total of a man or woman's life. Joe Miller honorably served his God, his country, his family and his community. He has earned every award, degree and accolade he has ever been given. He is fighting to become Senator for his beloved adopted state. I expect, as a man of principle and high expectations, he has stepped on more than a few toes in his time. Lord knows he has annoyed the power-brokers of this state. Good for him. We should all do that.
Lisa Murkowski has had very little of her background even examined by the media. It took them 20 years to discover she hadn't passed the bar until the 5th attempt. No shame in that, some people don't do well on tests. But, neither the local press, not paid operatives have dug into her background to find information that puts her in a bad light, or which could be twisted in a way to put her in a bad light, as has been done to Joe Miller
Tony Hopfinger accosted a guard and pushed him into a locker. The guard was preventing Tony from barring Miller from leaving the building. Hopfinger was not prevented from attending the event. He could have asked questions earlier. He was carrying a tiny video camera. Was he attempting to get yet the same answer to questions that have already been responded to, or was he attempting to manufacture a media moment to help Murkowski? Wasn't it the financial backer of the Dispatch, Tony's employer, who stated after Lisa's primary defeat that "if (she'd) known that Miller would win (she) would have taken care of Miller during the primary"?
Lisa Murkowski may or may not be a nice person. I'd thought she was up until the way she has stood back (hidden?) and allowed a nice man and a good family be treated. Lisa, frankly, hasn't seemed to earn much that has come to her in life. That's okay. Some of us get luckier with connections than others.
I wish Hopfinger would chase after her and ask a question about her employment. Specifically, "Senator Murkowski, when your father offered to anoint (oops - appoint) you senator in his place, why didn't you turn him down? Why didn't you refuse the position and insist that you earn it on your own."
And, please, Jason and other Murkowski acolytes, please don't tell me that that issue became moot when she managed to barely hold onto the seat during a Republican presidential election sweep of the state. Without Bush's coattails it'd be Senator Knowles trying to hold onto his seat.
Never mind charges
Forget answering about charges. Last week Joe refused to answer any more questions about anything. Anything at all. He'll tell you what he wants you to know. I don't see how any American thinks that's in any way acceptable. Imagine a Democrat doing that and how you'd see it. No other politician does that, although Sarah Palin has come close.
Issues Please!
I know it is really hard for some people to understand, but what matters in an election is the issues ... not whether the candidate has evolved in his political positions over the course of a few decades.
Joe has answered a lot of questions about his past. He's recognized it as a distraction from the issues and decided that the focus needed to shift so that the real purpose of the election would be accomplished.
The big question for me is why won't Lisa Murkowski talk about the ISSUES?
Moreover, I would point out that the alleged "discipling" probably never actually happened. Jim Whitaker is a discredited political hack who, while serving as the Republican mayor in Fairbanks, endorsed Barack Obama, betraying local voters who elected him. Joe Ruebrick, the AK Republican chairman who Joe Miller was supposedly trying to oust, came out on Friday and said there was no mechanism for proxy voting in that party election, so Whitaker's allegation is not only unsubstantiated, but suspect. Joe Miller is refusing to be pulled from the issues by it. That's a good thing.
nonsense
The deranged blogger "editor" Democrap bigot who assaulted Miller is not a legitimate part of the "public" but a political hack who wants to impose his manifestly lunatic fascist (i.e. Democrap) views and should not be tolerated in a civilized society he's shown himself incapable of navigating, covered by First Amendment protections the Founding Fathers meant for responsible citizens (something unknown today), something he, as with most media wingnuts, is not in any way, shape, or form.
Hey Russ you are a moron,
Hey Russ you are a moron, everyone including the press is part of the public. You must be one of those exclusionists, who deem certain people part of the public. In your world are African-Americans part of the public? How about Muslims? Latinos? Gays? Don't look now but your racism is showing.
Apparently bloggers did get to ask their questions....
Based on this article here was at least one blogger there that was able to ask his question....as a citizen...Jesse Griffin. The Alaska daily news article linked above in the update does not identify Griffin, however covers his remarks.
So, apparently, bloggers asked their questions as citizens....and they got press.
Respect
It used to be, and I'm sure you remember, that reporters (and I use the term loosely when referencing Hopfinger) showed respect for those they interview. Now, it appears confrontation is the word for the day.
Respect is no longer evident in either the interviewing nor the reporting.
Hopfinger was wrong. He knows it, the ADN knows it. The majority of Alaskans know it.
"Fool's names and fool's faces always appear in public places." Hopfinger is that fool.
Tony Hopfinger overplayed his hand
Jason,
Both "the people" and "the press" are subject to the law ... in many ways.
We didn't see "the people" chasing Miller down the hall, after he had left the event, did we?
The event was over ... but Tony Hopfinger aimed to create his own event.
Hopfinger's website, www.AlaskaDispatch.com, quickly reveals that Hopfinger & Co. are political activists, upset about Joe Miller's victory in the primary, and committed adversaries of the conservative base.
The 'media-game' has been known to get rough, and to push the envelope. I think that is part-and-parcel of the 1st Amendment. What happened here, though, is that Tony Hopfinger has shown himself to be a little inept at 'the games reporters play'.
The mark of success or failure, when the game gets aggressive like it did here, is this: Did the reporter's aggression enable him to get his story - or did the reporter's actions become the story?
Tony Hopfinger & his actions are now the story, and I think that's a reflection on his ability & judgement.
Wow...
... Saul Alinsky tactics? Really? A guy trying to ask a question? You people have really swallowed the cool aid. Do any of you even have a clue as to what you are saying? Or who you are voting for?
Impeding someone's movement,
Impeding someone's movement, blocking their path is not just "trying to ask a question" its looking to create confrontation and news. The person in question was obviously agitating (as is the history of liberals, progressives and communists et al)
Ill note that you posted anonymously, are you ashamed of yourself? are you related to the agitator in question? You might want to stick to the Huffington post which is the shallow end of the IQ pool, then you can use all the bumper sticker insults you want and no one will challenge you.
See you in November......
Sounds like you digested the
Sounds like you digested the "Kool Aid" long ago. Again there is a right way and wrong way of doing things. Do you honestly believe aggressive if not hostile actions and entrapment is going to get your questions answered? Again proper etiquette and professional behavior is what separates a real news reporter from an activist.
"Journalist" or "Paparazzi"?
Seems the lines between "journalism" and "junk sensationalism" has been blurred for a while. This joker acts more like a rabid paparazzi than a reporter or editor trying to get real information that would be of interest to the public. Paparazzi don't care about anything but the shot and bozo's like this want their 5 min. in the sun as if a "victim" of some imagined repression rather than an effort to restrain a boorish punk who has no sense of appropriate behavior in public. One just does not shove people out of the way (unless you're in NYC or Boston, of course) just to get what you want. No, this was a setup with a rude, sanctimonious toad willing to whatever it takes for the publicity. Yep, the Dems are desperate, indeed!
Hopfinger's tone irrelevant
A political question/answer event open to the public is a press-worthy event. I find your statement to the contrary quite alarming, and of course you are very wrong on that account. Hopfinger may well have been insistant and obnoxious, but for private security to handcuff and detain him is outrageous. I hope there is a full investigation and, if warranted, criminal charges levied.
Hopfinger wasn't arrested for his tone
Amii,
Tony Hopfinger was blocked from further pursuit of Joe Miller, by a line of Miller supporters who passively stood in his path. Hopfinger then shoved one of the blockers, reports say, into the lockers (which lined school halls).
Had Hopfinger stuck with talking, he'd have probably been alright, but once he decided to 'make it physical', that put the decision how to proceed in his adversary's court. After continued theatrical bellicosity, they then had a pre-existing justification to take action.
Because Hopfinger had chosen to "physically assault" somebody, he had set himself up for a standard citizen's arrest.
No, it wasn't his tone that got Hopfinger in trouble.
Wow is right
Ah, the intrepid "Anonymous" speaking truth to power and hiding in the shadows.
Is that you, Tony?
distractions
once again, YES...these are Alinsky tactics, separate and attack...
the Press covering this event were very well-mannered...Hofinger apparently thinks (like Lisa) that he can DEMAND things....if it was me getting assaulted, I would press full charges!
Now instead of discussing issues, the Alinsky tactics have served to distract from the real concerns that Alaskans and ALL AMERICANS have about the direction this country in taking!
and I have never heard such idiocy than that of Craig Medred on the Dan Fagan show today ...saying that th press has "certain liberties"...that DOES NOT INCLUDE ASSAULT!
Fagan should never have Medred on again!
He can't shut up long enough for anyone else to talk...I have never heard such foolishness and weak excuses for a full-grown man (Hopfinger) to attack someone !
joe miller
Sounds like simple harrassment and possibly disturbing the peace to me. Miller tried to leave, the reporter wouldn't let him, so he turned and let his security detail take care of the problem. The man is running for public office, and if he felt threatened by this morons behavior, than his security has every right to stop the reporter from getting at him.
False Imprisonment
I was considering donating to Miller. I'm sick of the RINOs like Murkowski. A key component to "tea party" supporters are that they love that whole "inalienable rights" thingy. Freedom and Liberty. You following me, Miller fans? Do not give up your obvious knowledge and desire to adhere to our God-Given rights which the constitution merely reinforces, for the sake of getting Murkowsk out and the foiling the Democrats. Miller must FIRE this GOON Squad and come out is strong opposition to what they did... otherwise, I'll be left to believe that he supports their CRIMINAL ACTIONS. I hope the journalist litigates.
Report the Truth Thomas
If Joe Miller can't handle little old Tony Hopfinger and the Alaska Dispatch, (which is a news site, not a blog) how in the world is he going to handle the DC press corp ?
BTW, Tony Hopfinger has worked as a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, the Anchorage Press, and has freelanced for many national publications.
He is not a mere blogger but a bona fide reporter. Shame on you for continuing to call him a blogger.
Joe Miller is showing his true colors, how anybody can still support this guy at this point is beyond me.
The Truth ain't in Tony's camera
Siberia Bill,
So far, Joe Miller is doing fine with Tony Hopfinger's stagecraft ... the clumsiness of which is a reflection on Tony, not Joe.
Sure, Hopfinger has been a reporter in the past, but these days he's a hired blog editor. Lots of people used to be something ... that they aren't, today. Today, they are what they are today ... and so is Hopfinger.
Besides ... you think there's something wrong with being a blogger? I'm not at all ready to sign on with that outlook, Bill.
You're right - the DC press corp isn't the www.AlaskaDispatch.com ... but I doubt that Hopfinger offers a close model for what they are.
DropZone Security Expired Business License
Drop Zone Security's business license expired three years ago.
http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/occ/bussearch/BusMain.cfm
That's the old one, Bill
Look at the new one:
WILLIAM F. FULTON
Drop Zone Security License
As you'll notice, the new license classification is for trade, not security.
Nice try. The Drop Zone thugs weren't even licensed, and now it appears that a couple of them are off-duty soldiers from Ft. Rich, who may have not had permission from their chain-of-command to be engaging in this type of activity.
I'm sorry, however you score this, it's bad for Joe Miller.
Tony Hopfinger was doing what journalists are paid to do, they dropped the ball with Sarah Palin and aren't going to get caught doing the same with Joe Miller.
Thank goodness there are still aggressive reporters out there who know what their job is.
Aggression for me, but not for thee?
What is most "noticeable", Bill is that you are grasping at straws. I doubt there is a problem with DropZone, mainly because the Anchorage police clearly known, recognize and get along alright with them.
I agree: some of them appear to be sporting military grooming & training protocol. I like seeing our men & women in uniform, in the community, and I feel even more confident, if DropZone is using military-trained folks.
I support aggression in journalists, and in civilian, informal investigators - such as yourself, Bill, and myself.
Tony Hopfinger is free & entitled to employ aggression, to be aggressive. He is also - like all of us - free to & at some risk to 'get carried with/by it'. It's kind of 'in the nature' of aggression, that a steady & skilled hand should be on the reins. Perhaps Mr. Hopfinger had the willingness, but not the control to use aggression successfully.
So Bill ... you would support aggression by Tony Hopfinger, but you are then surprised & dismayed, that his targets might be capable of (perhaps more-skilled, better-controlled) aggression, themselves?
Face it, Joe Miller is a
Face it, Joe Miller is a pussy. What kind of politician has a "security" detail at a townhall meeting ? I can't think of another politician in Alaska who has had the need forr a bodyguard, why does Joe need not just one, but apparently five of them ?
Is it because he's scared of little old Tony Hopfinger ?
Seriously ? Why did Joe back out of his latest commitment on the Kenai this week ?
I'm sorry, Mr. Hopfinger was doing what he gets paid to do, so you don't agree with that, fine, that's what professional journalists and reporters do, they ask questions.
They are the eyes and the ears of the citizenry, just like the writer of this blog is doing, and I commend him for his time and efforts.
If Mr. Miller would just agree to sit down with Mr. Hopfinger and answer his questions candidly, then perhaps the reporter wouldn't have had to go to such great lengths to ask the questions in the first place.
Joe Miller was pretty much an unknown quantity, even up until the primary, Alaskan voters deserve to know who this candidate is. Does his walk match his talk ?
Is there more about Mr. Miller's background that we should know about that he's not telling us about ?
Keep supporting Joe, at this point he's going to need all of the support that he can get.
Joe Miller = Bad for Alaska
More ill-considered aggression
It is right there in the news reports, that the Miller campaign hired security, because the Anchorage school board required it.
Beyond that ... candidates & campaigns do hire & keep security. This isn't news. And looking at the news, it's hardly remarkable that they do.
Tony Hopfinger made a spectacle out of himself. He's no knight in shining armor. He wants to badger Miller, on stuff that a small army of questioners has already badgered him.
The irrationality you are resorting to is quite familiar ... a lot like that Tony Hopfinger guy. Is that you, Tony, flinging school-yard names at Miller? Ahh ... I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Siberia Bill = Tony Hopfinger? ;-)
That's the best that you can
That's the best that you can do ? Accuse me of being Tony Hopfinger.
What is irrational about wanting to know who Joe Miller is.
You've posted several items on this thread that are factually incorrect.
Who did Tony push into the locker ? Apparently Fulton couldn't identity that person for the police report and he's yet to identify who that person is to the press.
Why ? Because it never happened.
ASD did not require a "security" team, read the contract, it's all over the place.
Before you come on here you should at least attempt to get your facts straight, something that Mr. Hopfinger knows a little about, being a professional journalist and all.
There was enough evidence indicating that there was something hinky going on during Joe's employment with the FNSB, all Tony was trying to do was confirm it. He was holding back on running the story until he could confirm it with Joe, which is what he was trying to do.
It's apparent that you don't have the foggiest notion of how the press works, what their role is and what they have to do to do thier jobs.
Anchorage is a small town and perhaps isn't used to such an aggressive reporter. Everybody knows everybody up here, there was no need for aggressive reporters getting in your face, Alaska pols have always been pretty open about giving access to the media.
Security's role
To clear up a few things
Security was not hired as a "protection detail" for Joe they were hired as a detail for the event this included the care and control of the facility and all whom were in it (that includes Joe and everybody else)
The business license for Dropzone's store covers there security activities as they are a minute portion of there income and the store sells security equipment allowing them to use a single license and not having to buy two.
The fact that Tony works as an editor for some web page and that Joe is running for office had nothing to do with why Tony was arrested he was arrested for getting violent and refusing to leave a private event at a privately rented facility just because the public is invited doesn't mean they don't have to leave a private event when asked.
This was never about asking questions it was and remains about a common trespass charge framing it another way distorts the facts Tony was provided ample opportunity to leave and informed he was trespassing in choosing not to turn around he chose the course of events that transpired.
There are legal requirements of the security to act once violence has been committed
Is that you "Dropzone"
Is that you "Dropzone" ?
And what about the two thugs from JBER ?
What about Dropzone Bill's connections to Norm Olson ?
So you're telling me that these cats didn't need any kind of special license to do this kind of work ?
Is that what you're saying ?
Take WAR's advice, quit talking to the press and quit posting on internet chat boards, Tony Hopfinger and the AK Dispatch is going to own your ass very soon.
We live & learn ... some of us anyway.
Siberia Bill,
I like the threaded comments; I work with them on my own site ... so I know it's better not to lean too hard on them. Let's jump over to a new thread here ... before we break RedCounty's page. ;)
Yes, you're right: the conflicts & assertions swirling around Joe Miller's rally have turned out to be a stand-off.
As I said here, http://www.alaskadispatch.com/voices/tundra-talk/7192-its-miller-time on the Alaska Dispatch site that Tony Hopfinger runs ...
"Last week's events [at Miller's rally] were 'noticed' and 'examined' by all players, large & small ... and the world rapidly moved on. A little excitement .. but no damages to either party, no points awarded, no penalties levied."
So indeed, there are no charges against Tony Hopfinger. On the other hand, there are also no charges against DropZone, their people, or Miller's operation.
Anchorage School District (ASD) did not specify a security company, that's true, but they did specify that several security functions or conditions be provided or met. How these various forms of security were to be implemented, was left up to the Miller team to decide ... and they simply hired a firm to do as ASD wanted/stipulate.
I appreciate that Tony was/is 'on a story', that there are assertions concerning Joe Miller's employment and activities in Fairbanks, which are certainly of interest, potentially of importance ... and damn sure part of Tony's job to chase after.
If Tony gets too carried away, though, steps over legal lines, that would be a mistake. E.g., if the story is as he thinks, there may well be information on the FNSB computers that would help confirm it. Hacking-skills are by no means unknown, and illicitly obtained information can be of immense value. 'Chasing the story' with such techniques, though, could easily lead to Tony, his story, and even his website ... ending up 'screwed, blued & tatooed' (while the supposed perp walks..).
That Tony is 'on a story', relieves him of neither the necessity to stay within the law ... nor, less formally, to observe the softer lines of common sense. Although 'further investigation' has failed to substantiate outright wrong-doing by Tony (or DropZone), certainly it looked to me like he was flirting heavily with the envelope ... that common sense-wise, Tony did go beyond his own best interests.
I whole-hearted agree that Anchorage and Alaska as whole, both 'like to see' and 'genuinely value' a significantly ratched-down version of the 'big city media-game' ... which some journalists may so casually assume to be the 'norm', that they damage their own prospects in Alaska.
In terms of the wider Press on The Last Frontier, it would be unfortunate if public figures in Alaska concluded from events at Miller's rally, that they should adopt a more guarded & arms-length attitude toward the press. There could conceivably be unfortunate fallout from certain of Tony's less-adroit decisions & actions.
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