Reuters Editor Apologizes For Blaming Trump For Annapolis Shooting Amid Backlash
Rob Cox, a top editor at Reuters, apologized on June 28, hours after blaming President Donald Trump for Jarrod Ramos’ shooting rampage in Annapolis, Maryland.
The massacre left five employees of the Capital Gazette newspaper dead and two people injured. Cox issued the apology under heavy backlash for tying the shooting to Trump before any facts had surfaced.
Shortly after Ramos’ deadly rampage, Cox angrily wrote in a since-deleted tweet (screenshot below): “This is what happens when Donald Trump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands, Mr. President. Save your thoughts and prayers for your empty soul.”
Blamed Trump Minutes After Shooting
In a Twitter apology Thursday evening, Rob Cox claimed he had fired off the angry anti-Trump tweet because he “responded emotionally and inappropriately” in the heat of the moment.
“I am sorry for my comments, which I quickly deleted and have disavowed, and especially remorseful if they did anything to distract from the thoughts and love we must send to the community of Annapolis,” Cox wrote.
Many on Twitter pointed out that Cox apologized only after he had received volcanic backlash for jumping to conclusions immediately after the shooting.
@rob1cox of @Reuters proves why the MSM is called #FakeNews
Rob Cox knows the motive of the shooter before law enforcement does? Sorry Rob, you are the epitome of fake news, if anyone has blood on their hands it’s you! #UnhingedLeft #Annapolis @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/SAVhc6jmMH— Deplorables4Trump (@lbrot1) June 28, 2018
Reuters editor-in-chief Steve Adler issued the following statement, where he suggested that Cox could be disciplined for his journalistic lapse and display of blatant partisanship: “Earlier this evening, Reuters Breakingviews Editor Rob Cox tweeted about the shooting in Annapolis, Maryland. He has since deleted the tweet and apologized.”
“Mr. Cox’s actions were inconsistent with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles requiring journalists to maintain freedom from bias. We do not condone his behavior and will take appropriate action.”
Police say the Annapolis shooter was Jarrod Ramos, a 38-year-old Maryland resident who had a longstanding vendetta against the Capital Gazette for publishing a 2011 article detailing his guilty plea for criminal harassment of a former high school classmate.
Ramos sued the newspaper in 2012 for defamation, but the lawsuit was dismissed in 2015. He has since threatened and trolled the Capital Gazette on social media.
When I saw the news today that a mass shooter had targeted the employees of a newspaper in Maryland I responded emotionally and inappropriately.
— Rob Cox (@rob1cox) June 29, 2018
2- Though my comments were entirely personal, they were not in keeping with the Reuters Trust Principles and my own standards for letting facts, not snap judgments, guide my understanding.
— Rob Cox (@rob1cox) June 29, 2018
3 – My experience as a member of the community of Newtown, Connecticut in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy, combined with the possibility that my colleagues in the press were being targeted, pushed me into a state of emotional distress.
— Rob Cox (@rob1cox) June 29, 2018
4 – I am sorry for my comments, which I quickly deleted and have disavowed, and especially remorseful if they did anything to distract from the thoughts and love we must send to the community of Annapolis.
— Rob Cox (@rob1cox) June 29, 2018
The Annapolis shooting was not politically motivated and had nothing to with President Trump.
The Capital Gazette shooting suspect is Jarrod Warren Ramos, 38.
He once pled guilty to criminal harassment over emails he sent to a woman telling her to kill herself. In 2012, he sued the newspaper for defamation over an article about the case. His lawsuit was dismissed. pic.twitter.com/6koNPZofvZ
— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 29, 2018
Reuters editor Rob Cox is the latest person to hurt their professional reputation after ranting about Trump on Twitter.
As the Inquisitr has reported, Dr. Eugene Gu, a Tennessee physician, was recently fired by Vanderbilt Medical Center for alleged poor work performance amid reports that he had been arrested for domestic violence against his ex-wife.
Gu, a leading voice of the anti-Trump “Resistance” movement, claims to be a champion for women’s rights.
Gu is a prolific tweeter and many wondered how a physician had the time to tweet so often and still keep a job.
