![\"Tony](\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/TonyOverman-779x1024.jpg\" "\\"Daily")
<\/a>Tony Overman<\/p><\/div>\n
The story has been repeatedly reported Monday morning on KIRO-FM, which interviewed Overman during the 7 o\u2019clock hour. There was no discussion about Overman\u2019s earlier-reported reach for a shotgun, but here\u2019s the\u00a0MyNorthwest.com<\/a>quote:<\/p>\n “I sat up all night with a 12-gauge shot gun by my side.\u201d\u2014Tony Overman, photojournalist for The Olympian newspaper.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Anarchists<\/a>\u00a0have been in and out of the news in Washington State since the WTO protests more than a decade ago. The protest then made a hero of former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert when he was caught on camera, unarmed, chasing some of the anarchist vandals down a Seattle street. Say what you will about Reichert, but at the moment he was in foot pursuit of those vandals, you didn\u2019t want to be one of them if he caught you.<\/p>\n In Overman\u2019s case, published reports say he has been wrongly identified by anarchists as a police photographer. It\u2019s a smear that has caused him nothing but trouble, and now the vandals have tracked him down to his own home. He is getting universal support from other journalists, and from the\u00a0press community\u00a0<\/a>at large.<\/p>\n The reason for the attack was apparently because Overman had dared to do his job–he took photos of the anarchists while they were marching in public, seeking attention\u2026 In both instances, the notion that these anarchists are using the same truth-suppressing, thuggish tactics that they supposedly despise seems to be lost on the fools.\u2014Seattle Weekly<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Washington State citizens enjoy, as this column has frequently noted, one of the best self-defense statutes in the country. Considering the high profile of Overman\u2019s current troubles with anarchists, the likelihood of him ever being prosecuted for acting in self-defense seems remote.<\/p>\n The reports suggest that Overman has considerable backbone and is sticking to his guns, professionally and personally.<\/p>\n But what does it say of the anarchists who are harassing and trying to intimidate him?<\/p>\n Anarchists are evidently cowards who do not wish to be held accountable for their criminal actions. They wear masks. They demand anonymity. They believe they should be invisible from the press when they rampage. They skulk to someone\u2019s home and vandalize it, and his vehicle. They are, as the\u00a0Tacoma News Tribune\u00a0<\/a>observed editorially this morning, \u201cdomestic terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n Destruction that targeted The Olympian and Overman\u2019s home were deliberate acts by self-described anarchists for the purposes of retaliation and intimidation. Retaliation for journalists\u2019 exercise of their\u00a0First Amendment<\/a>\u00a0rights and intimidation to make them hesitate to exercise those rights in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s not vandalism; it\u2019s domestic terrorism. And in a free society, it cannot be justified or tolerated. We trust that the authorities are treating this case in that light.\u2014Tacoma News Tribune<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Social protest is protected by the same First Amendment under which Overman photographs news events, and whatever else a violent protest happens to be, it is first, and foremost, news that the public has a right to know about.<\/p>\n Readers can follow Overman\u2019s work in the pages of the\u00a0Daily Olympian<\/em>. They can follow anarchists by the trail of silvery slime they leave in their wake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Olympian Photojournalist Loads 2A as 1A @ttacked By Dave Workman –\u00a0JUNE 13, 2011 Threats, harassment and intimidation\u00a0by anarchist thugs against an Olympia photojournalist apparently hit the outer limits when Tony Overman revealed to MyNorthwest.com over the weekend that the most … Continue reading