Not hyperbole. (Some links below via Reverb Press.)
By the way...
Yes, that is a threat that the former governor let slip from his loose lips, and it's possible some right-wing freak with too many guns and ammo took his protest against justice literally.
Kocurek was in serious condition on admission to the hospital but has stabilized; her wounds are not considered life-threatening at this time. Judges and prosecutors in Texas have often been targeted for reprisals from deranged people who believed they needed to settle an old score with a gun. I'd like to think that's not the case here, but the fact is that when an assassination attempt is conducted -- and Rick Perry and Texas Republicans and threatening language are mentioned in the same breath -- you just can't rule anything out. Because Rick Perry likes to kill people. He especially likes to kill innocent people, sometimes letting them die slowly.
Let's be fair: as massively stupid as he is, the former governor probably isn't so stupid that he pulled the trigger of the gun that fired the bullets that hit Judge Kocurek. But he may have, unwittingly or otherwise, encouraged someone to do so. And until we know differently -- once the gunman is apprehended and questioned -- he should remain a suspect.
That's. Not. Exaggeration.
A manhunt is underway after a Travis County judge was shot outside her home. Austin police say someone opened fire on District Judge Julie Kocurek in the driveway of her Tarrytown home around 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Kocurek had just pulled up to her home in West Austin with some other people when the shooting happened, according to police.
She was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge where she is currently in stable condition. Sources tell KXAN she was admitted into ICU for observation. Sources also say that the judge received injuries to the upper body–left shoulder and face area–but that it was not a direct hit.
Police are searching for the shooter and interviewing witnesses.
By the way...
Kocurek, a former prosecutor, was appointed to the 390th District court in Travis County, which includes Austin, by then-Gov. George W. Bush in 1999. Later, she became the only Republican elected to a state district judgeship in the left-leaning county, but switched parties and became a Democrat in 2006.
[...]
She is perhaps best known for her statements after former Gov. Rick Perry was indicted on felony coercion and abuse-of-power charges by an Austin grand jury in August 2014.
Perry held a news conference where he vowed: "This farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is" adding that "those responsible will be held to account." Kocurek responded that that could be interpreted as a threat against members of the grand jury, and that they would be protected from Perry or anyone else since "no one is above the law."
Yes, that is a threat that the former governor let slip from his loose lips, and it's possible some right-wing freak with too many guns and ammo took his protest against justice literally.
Kocurek was in serious condition on admission to the hospital but has stabilized; her wounds are not considered life-threatening at this time. Judges and prosecutors in Texas have often been targeted for reprisals from deranged people who believed they needed to settle an old score with a gun. I'd like to think that's not the case here, but the fact is that when an assassination attempt is conducted -- and Rick Perry and Texas Republicans and threatening language are mentioned in the same breath -- you just can't rule anything out. Because Rick Perry likes to kill people. He especially likes to kill innocent people, sometimes letting them die slowly.
Let's be fair: as massively stupid as he is, the former governor probably isn't so stupid that he pulled the trigger of the gun that fired the bullets that hit Judge Kocurek. But he may have, unwittingly or otherwise, encouraged someone to do so. And until we know differently -- once the gunman is apprehended and questioned -- he should remain a suspect.
That's. Not. Exaggeration.
