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McCain Volunteer Admits Hoax, Was Not Attacked at an ATM in Pittsburgh
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by tikun | October 23, 2008 at 12:05 pm
4169 views | 38 Recommendations | 63 comments
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McCain Volunteer Attacked at an ATM in Pittsburgh (Ashley Todd)
uploaded by Rhonda J Mangus
Incident was a Hoax
The GOP volunteer admitted she made the story of her being held down and a B carved in her face was a hoax, after several inconsistencies in her story and a lie-detector test. She is now facing charges from police.
NowPublic member Dukelberg posted a comment showing the volunteer made the entire story up:
McCain volunteer admits hoaxPITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Police sources tell KDKA that a campaign worker has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter "B" in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.
Ashley Todd, 20, of Texas, initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect became enraged and started beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car.
Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.
Authorities, however, declined to release the results of that test.
Investigators did say that they received photos from the ATM machine and "the photographs were verified as not being the victim making the transaction."
This afternoon, a Pittsburgh police commander told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that Todd confessed to making up the story.
The commander added that Todd will face charges; but police have not commented on what those charges will be.
According to police, investigators working on the interview process detected several inconsistencies in Todd's story that differed from statements made in the original police report.
Pittsburgh Police Public Information Officer Diane Richard released a statement earlier today, saying: "Because of the inconsistencies in her statements, Ms. Todd was asked to submit to a polygraph examination which she agreed to do."
No photos of Todd are being released by Pittsburgh Police at this time.
The investigation is continuing as officials determine what charges will be filed.Source: kdka.com
There has been updates to this story including the police wanting to administer a polygraph. I hope that she is telling the truth because this kind of potential damage to the political process is uncalled for. I also want everyone to know, including my detractors that have personally insulted me, that I saw a breaking story and its importance to the political climate in the US and felt compelled to report it.
The Latest: It appears from Pittsburg news sources that a young woman was robbed at an ATM and as the robber noticed her McCain bumper sticker beat her and carved a B into her face with a knife.
Developing story - please stay tuned and refresh this page for more details
It’s just breaking on radios/TV in Pittsburgh
So far, its just verbal reports on the local stations - nothing in print on any of the sites yet, but early reports allege that Obama supports attacked and carved a large “B” in the face of a McCain volunteer.Source: http://www.drudgereport.com/
So far, Drudge is the only site that has any text on it
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Rhonda J Mangus
North Tonawanda, New York, United States
Sanjay Jha
New Delhi, India
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (63)
at 12:25 on October 23rd, 2008
Mutilated? That's terrible!
at 12:31 on October 23rd, 2008
Not surprising, having seen the video of New Yorkers' behavior while "tolerating" a McCain campaign parade... Pittsburgh is a waaaay tougher town.
at 18:18 on October 23rd, 2008
Have you BEEN to Pittsburgh? Youngstown is a rough city. Philly can be. Cleveland is. Pittsburgh is not. Take it from someone who's walked there at night.
Someone using a mirror to carve a B in their face isn't gonna change the basic facts.
at 12:36 on October 23rd, 2008
It turns out a woman was mugged at an ATM, and the attacker saw she had a McCain bumper sticker, and it made the idiot mad and he scratched a b on her cheek. Some random crazy criminal act is turned by Drudge into "Obama supporter attacks and mutilates McCain volunteer". Typical sensationalism by the Drudge Report. Notice how he has dropped the huge 20 point type and colored headline now that the facts have been revealed...
at 12:40 on October 23rd, 2008
Paull: I do think he has the facts correct! If that same guy carved an "M" on someones cheek during a crime I think you would hear the same in the NY Times and every other MSM paper out there!
at 12:49 on October 23rd, 2008
I don't see that she was a volunteer for McCain ( a big difference from having a bumper sticker) and what connection does this have to do with Obama? That some random idiot lowlife was cruel? Like he's on Obama's payroll or something? And the fact she had the bumpersticker didn't instigate the attack, money did. The BS just made him more of a crazed idiot...
at 12:36 on October 23rd, 2008
They have a report at a local TV station site Sick!!!!
at 12:38 on October 23rd, 2008
Everybody chill. Now!
at 12:42 on October 23rd, 2008
Remember this statement from the so-called man of change?
"Obama tried to anticipate his critics and called on the crowd of about 1,500 to sharpen their elbows, too.
"I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face," he said."
at 15:42 on October 23rd, 2008
You honestly see that as a call to violence?
at 12:48 on October 23rd, 2008
tikun, I like this story. It's good stuff. I've been targeted recently by Obama truth squader types. It's vicious out there if you try to discuss, or disagree with, Obama as either a candidate or a demi-god.
at 17:38 on October 23rd, 2008
Yeah, it's basically impossible trying to discuss something with someone who bases their whole political philosophy on how they feel about things. Stick with it PEP.
at 19:40 on October 23rd, 2008
Hey, Big T. Yep, some discussions are impossible, so ya just move on to where you can do something. You stick with it, too.
at 12:56 on October 23rd, 2008
Local story: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/17789356/detail.html
at 13:59 on October 23rd, 2008
oh my gosh. that is horrible
at 14:47 on October 23rd, 2008
and so it begins, crystalnacht.
at 14:54 on October 23rd, 2008
Your trivialization (not to mention misspelling) of that tragic night would be laughable were it not so insensitive, shallow and ludicrous.
at 15:10 on October 23rd, 2008
I don't understand how the reference to kristallnacht is even relevant here.
at 15:45 on October 23rd, 2008
Tina, kristallnacht is not at all relevant here, except for inciting fear and racism. Those who actually see this as anything close to the same event should do some studying.
at 15:49 on October 23rd, 2008
dunkleberg, some of your recent comments are baiting ones. I realize these are charged issues, but we don't allow comments like this.
at 16:12 on October 23rd, 2008
If I have crossed the line, I apologize. Please feel free to delete anything you wish*.
However, I will maintain that referring to this incident in any was shape or form as kristillnacht is totally inappropriate and insulting.
*including this
at 17:20 on October 23rd, 2008
I understand what Rene means, and while I don't agree with her analysis, definitely see what she is taking about.
However, I propose a different metaphor. At first I thought this was situation was akin to the Hutu/Tutsi debacle in 1990's Rwanda. But that wasn't it either. Both of those examples had a consistant victim (Jew/Tutsi) and a consistant victimizer (Nazi/Hutu) No, instead let's compare this to a more legendary American conflict - the Hatfields and McCoys. In this feud there victim and victimizer often traded hats and no one could really say who started what. Both sides simply hated and took crazy pot-shots at one another.
So far this year we have had shootings and now muggings and carvings. The tension we feel because we continuously fear terrorist assault and other boggies may well result in America trasnsforming into a Balkin state. Osama and his breathren may well be smarter and more insidious than we thought. Perhaps they know us better than we think.
The Unitarians in that church earleir this election season did not deserve to be killed and this woman did not deserve to be mugged and cut. In both cases the people who perpetrated these acts were not politcal partisans or true believers - they were opportunists and punks who need to serve some serious jail time.
at 05:24 on October 24th, 2008
Okay, I take it back, on further research. Nevertheless, whether this story is true or not, there have been alarming incidents from Obama followers. The paintball and .22 gunshot attack on one of the McCain buses a case in point.
at 14:49 on October 23rd, 2008
Source: wpxi.com
at 14:58 on October 23rd, 2008
Here's a photo of the woman who was the victim, courtesy of the Drudge Report.
at 15:27 on October 23rd, 2008
So.....she was "Mutilated"......but declined medical assistance? Sounds a little bit strange and perhaps exaggerated a tad.
at 15:41 on October 23rd, 2008
She ways she was attacked. I don't think it should be trivialized. Even if the physical wounds were not life threatening the assault itself and any possible scarring could have lasting implications.
Whoever did this should be found and punished to the fullest extent of the law, Just as the Obama/Biden campaign said.
at 07:07 on October 24th, 2008
Yeah because she carved herself!
at 17:22 on October 23rd, 2008
Um, does anyone else think this is a hoax? If you look at the pictures, the 'B' is backwards, as though someone scratched it in by looking in the mirror. Even Michelle Malkin thinks this is a hoax. Why decline medical treatment? Why drive to a friends house? Wouldn't you vividly recall the scene of such a heinous crime? When your adrenaline is rushing in an intense situation you notice your surroundings as a survival technique.
I think that if this is proved false, it will not go over well for McCain. We already know that the media isn't his biggest fan. I think this young lady misguidedly thought she was helping.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/23/why-that-mccain-volunteers-mutilation-story-smells-awfully-weird/
at 17:37 on October 23rd, 2008
If it really happened, people like you will gossip about the possibilities that it isn't true. If it's not true then you'll use it for the purpose of trashing McCain even further instead of simply debating the issues in an adult manor which is hard to find in the media and blogs these days.