Journalist Fired By Seattle ABC Affiliate For Coverage Of Proud Boys – CB

Jonathan Choe, a veteran reporter for the ABC tv affiliate KOMO in Seattle, has written an essay on Medium claiming he was fired for his protection of a rally by the controversial Proud Boys group.

Choe was masking the rally within the Washington state capital of Olympia earlier this month. He tweeted a photograph montage of the Proud Boys rally, together with some controversial music within the clip. That drew outrage from the Twitterati, who allegedly accused him of being a “white supremacist.”

“Let me begin off by saying I’m not a neo-Nazi, fascist, or white supremacist,” Choe wrote on Medium. “These are simply among the names I’ve been referred to as over the previous few days for my current protection of a protest in Olympia, WA. It was marketed as a “rally for America.”

Choe, a reporter of 20 years, created a photograph montage with sound from the march to finish his day. Within the clips, he included music from the rally that included a music referred to as “We’ll Have Our Residence Once more.” Though Choe was unfamiliar with the tune, it’s allegedly performed incessantly at Proud Boys rallies and related gatherings.

“I needed to easily seize a second in time, with genuine visuals and sounds. It was clearly misinterpreted by some on-line,” Choe wrote.

Due to the uproar, Choe mentioned his information director advised him to take down all his social media associated to the Proud Boys rally. He did so, however was fired the next day, he mentioned.

“I’ve been a journalist now for greater than 20 years. If there was a Ku Klux Klan rally and cross burning at Seattle Middle in downtown, I might be the primary individual there to cowl the occasion. My job is to current all sides, not simply the one which aligns with my values or worldview,” Choe wrote, including that he has coated “Antifa violence and destruction within the metropolis” as nicely.

“My drawback arises when any group or aspect tries to silence me for merely attempting to indicate what’s occurring,” Choe condluded. “On the finish of the day, all I can do is shine a light-weight on points that matter to the group. Pretty and precisely.

CB has reached out to KOMO for remark. We’ll replace after they reply.