Andrew Lester, 84, was radicalized and immersed in Fox News before shooting teenager Ralph Earle, according to his grandson.
Kansas City Star He spoke to Lester’s grandson and reported:
“But in the last five or six years or so, I feel like we’ve lost touch,” he said. “I’ve gotten older and gotten my own political views, and he’s become downright right-wing, completely buying into the bottom of the right-wing rabbit hole of election denial conspiracy stuff and COVID conspiracies and misinformation. News, OAN type line. I feel it made him more radical in many ways.
“They were in a 24-hour news cycle and they were scared and scared,” said Ludwig, his grandfather. “Then you have to defend your home while pushing the NRA ‘stand your ground’ stuff,” he said. “When I heard what happened, I was shocked and horrified, but I couldn’t believe it was true. The second I heard, I was like, ‘Yeah, I saw him do that.’
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Lester is so extreme that it shocks his family members to accidentally go to the wrong house and shoot his siblings.
The extremism of older Americans who watch and consume conservative media is a problem that has been studied for years, but extremism has moved from misinformed political beliefs to shooting innocent people because conservative media consumption exacerbates the situation. Fear and paranoia.
Fox News, ON and Newsmax make their money the way the NRA sells guns and Trump and the Republicans are court voters. Fear is the driving force behind the conservative movement.
Guns and a conservative media culture are a dangerous combination that feeds people nothing but fear and paranoia.
The threat of the profit industry on the right is harming the country, killing people.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House Press Pool and Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform activities.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Association of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
