It’s all over the place if you want to believe it: Jared Loughner, the suspect in the attempted assassination of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., over the weekend, was Jewish, was linked to Giffords, was “gay” and was a former Republican. But what’s actually true and what isn’t?
WND sorted through the evidence that exists to determine some answers, but instead of clearing up questions about the suspect, the research ended up raising new questions.
The crux of what WND found is that Loughner may well be Jewish, as is Giffords.
Also, on Monday, Giffords’ YouTube site removed the subscription to Loughner’s YouTube channel, while leaving in place a link Loughner established as a subscriber to Giffords’ You Tube website.
Is Loughner Jewish?
In an interview with Nick Baumann at Mother Jones published on Monday, Bryce Tierney, a friend of Jared Loughner, claimed Loughner’s mother, Amy Loughner was Jewish, adding an interesting twist to the story given that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is Arizona’s first Jewish congresswoman.
Ron Kampeas, writing in his Capital J blog published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, noted that Amy Totman and Randy Loughner were married on April 24, 1986, in Pima County, according to Arizona state records.
Kampas notes that Totman “is an old English name, and seems fairly common,” but he could find nothing that confirmed Tierney’s recollection, cautioning that Tierney may have gotten his information from Jared Loughner, who Kampas characterized as “less than reliable.”
In Tucson, Giffords belongs to the Congregation Chaverim synagogue.
On Tuesday, there also was “word” that Loughner belonged to the same synagogue as Giffords.
But a representative of Congregation Chaverim denied this, telling WND that “Amy Loughner is not now and never has been a member of this congregation.”
Also, on Monday, a letter allegedly written by Amy Loughner appeared on a blog claiming that she had examined the history on the family channel and established that her son, Jared Loughner, was the “BlueBoy” who had posted on the DailyKos that Giffords was “dead to me” because of her vote against Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader.
The letter turned out to be bogus, as the identity of BlueBoy was self-identified as being Joey Stuart, in the following comment posted on a Daily Kos thread that was cached:
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The Internet buzz characterized him not only as Jewish (which he possibly is), but also as “gay” and a former Republican who had converted to Democrat (which characterizes Joey Stuart accurately, but not Jared Loughner).
Shooter’s Links to Giffords’ YouTube Account
On Sunday, WND reported that Rep. Giffords had subscribed her YouTube website to Jared Loughner’s YouTube channel, something that would have required an affirmative action taken by Giffords or by someone with access to use her YouTube username and password to establish the subscription link.
On Monday, someone unsubscribed Giffords from Loughner’s YouTube channel, with no explanation provided to reveal who removed the subscription, or how the subscription had been established in the first place.
Strangely, today, Loughner remained listed on page 8, row 2, position 2 of Giffords’ subscriber listings as one of 390 subscribers to Giffords’ YouTube website.
Below is a screen capture of the relevant subscription page from Giffords YouTube website:
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Also, below is a close-up that focuses on the subscription of “Classitup10,” Jared Loughner’s username on YouTube:
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Given YouTube rules, Loughner could subscribe to Giffords’ YouTube website without Giffords’ permission.
Loughner’s subscription could not remain on Giffords’ YouTube website if Giffords had noticed the subscription and decide to remove or block Loughner from subscribing.
Did Giffords know Loughner prior to the shooting?
There also were numerous reports that Giffords and Loughner had encountered each other before Saturday’s attempted assassination.
Numerous reports by friends of Loughner indicate he attended rallies Giffords held in Arizona in 2007 and was particularly disappointed to an answer she gave to a question he had the opportunity to ask.
According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal, a safe at Loughner’s home contained a letter from Giffords’ office thanking him for attending a 2007 “Congress on your Corner” event in Tucson, an event of the same kind Giffords held last Saturday, when Loughner attempted to assassinate her.
The safe also included notes handwritten by Loughner in which he wrote Giffords’ name, as well as statements including “I planned ahead,” “My assassination” and his signature, according to an FBI affidavit.
So far, no evidence has established that Loughner ever served as a formal volunteer to a Giffords’ election campaign, or that Giffords knew Loughner well, even though she wrote him what appears to have been a typical congressional letter to a constituent.
