Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- January 29, 2019
- Targets
- The Oregonian/OregonLive
Therese Bottomly, editor of The Oregonian/OregonLive, was stalked, harassed, and threatened by a Portland man who repeatedly stated Bottomly had published false information.
Kevin Michael Purfield was arrested and indicted on charges that he stalked and harassed Bottomly on Jan. 29, 2019, according to OregonLive.
Purfield reportedly sent numerous emails and phone calls to the newsroom alleging that Bottomly had published false information — including about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting.
Purfield, who repeatedly called the newsroom to say that various mass shootings had never occurred, sent Bottomly “her home address and ‘symbols of death’” after the editor told him to stop calling, OregonLive reported.
Purfield had previously pleaded guilty in 2013 to making hoax bomb threats to the Multnomah County Probation Office and the downtown jail building. He is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center and bail has been set at $2 million, according to OregonLive.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
