A guy claiming to be a Marine in Colorado attacked a television news reporter, telling him, “This is Trump’s America now” and attempted to strangle him, authorities said.
“I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!” Patrick Egan said in his arrest affidavit, acquired by the Associated Press and local media outlets this week, during his alleged Dec. 18 attack on KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex in Grand Junction
“Are you real American?” Egan allegedly asked.
“This is Trump’s America!”
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The attack resulted in felony accusations of bias-motivated crimes, second-degree assault by strangling, harassment by following, and ethnic intimidation against Egan, 39. After posting bond, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office listed him for release online Saturday.
Sunshine Rides taxi driver Egan allegedly followed Alex for 40 miles to the joint NBC and ABC news station where he worked as a multimedia journalist for KKCO/KJCT.
According to a press release, police claim Egan “tackled and choked” Alex before several of his coworkers restrained him and helped the reporter. Police said Alex believed he was assaulted because of his Pacific Islander race.
“This type of behavior has no place in our society and I strongly condemn it,” Sunshine Rides General Manager Kelly Millan told Grand Junction’s NBC affiliate, KKCO.
“I deeply regret the harm and disruption this has caused the victim, his family and co-workers,” Millan added. Sunshine Rides has suspended Egan pending a full investigation, will help law police, and will use this situation to re-emphasize our core values and standards with our team.
Alex informed detectives he reported before returning to the news station. He said Egan chased him immediately as he got out of his car. According to the police document, he requested Alex’s ID and “began to strangle him” after his Donald Trump reference. CCTV footage apparently captured part of the attack.
He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Clemson University in 2023. He has lived in “various locations across the Eastern and Southern regions of the United States.”
January 2 is Egan’s court date for filing charges.
