Public cable network C-SPAN says it reported a man who threatened to shoot CNN "Reliable Sources" host Brian Stelter and CNN anchor Don Lemon to the FBI. During a live C-SPAN segment on Friday, a caller identified as "Don" from State College, Pennsylvania, railed against Stelter and Lemon and blamed them for inciting what he described as a "war." "I see them, I'm gonna shoot them, bye," the called said before hanging up. Some members of the media have taken note of the increasingly hostile rhetoric from President Donald Trump and his allies, as well as opinion-show personalities who have joined, and believe it coincides with the influx of death threats they recently received. Public cable network C-SPAN says it reported a caller to the FBI after he threatened to shoot CNN "Reliable Sources" host Brian Stelter and CNN anchor Don Lemon during its live show Friday morning. "Specific threats of violence made on C-SPAN are reported to the appropriate authorities," a C-SPAN statement said. "On Friday, C-SPAN reported the incident and all relevant information to the FBI. The network said it was also cooperating with security personnel at CNN. During the live segment on Friday, a caller identified as "Don" from State College, Pennsylvania, railed against Stelter and Lemon and blamed them for inciting what he called a "war." "Brian Stelter and Don Lemon from CNN called Trump supporters 'all racists.'" Don claimed on Friday. "They don't even know us." "Come on, give me a break. They started the war. I see them, I'm gonna shoot them, bye," Don said before hanging up. The threat came after President Donald Trump's week-long tirade against the news media. In several campaign rallies and tweets last week, Trump accused the media of creating "great division & distrust," and described them as the "Enemy of the People" and "fake news" — a term he uses to describe critical and unfavorable media coverage. That did not happen on Friday when the caller threatened to shoot the CNN hosts. C-SPAN's Greta Brawner can only be heard on the video telling the caller to turn down his TV next time he calls in. C-SPAN in a statement said Brawner, "did not hear the comment." "Over the 30 plus years we've been airing call-in programs, we observed that the vast majority of our callers are respectful participants," C-SPAN's statement said. "However, if callers make ad hominem attacks or use indecent language, program hosts are expected to step in to cut off the call." "Given that this involves quick judgment on their part in the midst of a live television production, it can be an imperfect process," C-SPAN's statement said. "Airing of callers opinions' does not constitute endorsement of the views expressed, just as we do not endorse the opinions or analysis offered by the guests on our program." Some members of the media have taken note of the increasingly hostile rhetoric against them, and believe it coincides with the influx of death threats they recently received. One of these journalists include MSNBC anchor Katy Tur, who said that she received a note last week saying "I hope you get raped and killed." "Raped and killed," Tur said during her program. "Not just me, but a couple of my female colleagues as well. Tur also suggested there may be a correlation between Trump's public condemnation of the media and the threats: "And in case you wanna argue that this has nothing to do with the president, the most recent note I got ended with 'MAGA,'" Tur said, referring to the acronym of Trump's 2016 campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." Stelter played the footage featuring the C-SPAN caller on CNN as an example that attacks against media were having an effect. "I'm not asking for sympathy. I don't think I'm in extreme danger," Stelter said on Sunday. "I know some of my colleagues get much worse threats than I do. CNN has a great security team and we know how to handle this stuff." "And this problem is not confined to CNN," Stelter added. "People at Fox News and other outlets have to deal with this garbage too. But these kinds of threats are coming in more often."<doc-sep>C-SPAN said today that it reported a caller last week that threatened on-air to shoot CNN reporter Brian Stelter and anchor Don Lemon to the FBI, the latest crest in a wave of media-bashing led by President Donald Trump. The call, made during Friday’s open-phones segment on the cable network’s Washington Journal program, featured a caller accusing Stelter and Lemon of calling all Trump supporters racist, and ended with the threat, “They started the war, I see them I’m going to shoot them. Bye.” It was replayed by Stelter during CNN’s Reliable Sources program Sunday. According to CSPAN today (read the full tweet below), “a viewer who said he was from State College, Pennsylvania, called in to speak about criticism of the media. He made specific reference to CNN’s Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter and CNN host Don Lemon. He ended the call with what seemed to be a threat directed to the two journalists.” The network said its host did not hear the threat, but that it followed policy on reporting it. “Specific threats of violence made on C-SPAN are reported to the appropriate authorities. On Friday, C-SPAN reported the incident and all relevant information to the FBI. Subsequently, C-SPAN cooperated fully with CNN Security officials.” C-SPAN said the show’s guidelines do include for hosts to cut off callers “who make ad hominem attacks or use indecent language,” though given “that this involves quick judgment on their part in the midst of a live television production, it can be an imperfect process.” Earlier in the week, MSNBC’s Katy Tur said she and two female colleagues received notes recently from someone saying, “I hope you get raped and killed.” The note ended with “MAGA.” Trump, a frequent critic of CNN’s coverage, on Sunday continued his media-bashing in general with tweets suggesting journalists are the “enemy of the people” and “very dangerous & sick!” and “can also cause War!”.<doc-sep>UPDATE, with Brian Stelter video President Donald Trump began his Sunday morning with media-bashing tweets so virulent – the “enemy of the people” are “very dangerous & sick!” and “can also cause War!” – that journalists and the Sunday morning Beltway programs immediately struck back. CNN’s Jake Tapper called them “hate tweets,” the same network’s Brian Stelter described them as part of a “hate movement” and conservative columnist Bill Kristol tweeted that Trump is “closer in spirit to Putin than to America.” Stelter, on today’s Reliable Sources, noted that a caller to C-Span on Friday threatened to shoot both Stelter and CNN’s Don Lemon, a call that aired live and that Stelter re-played today to demonstrate the increasing threats against journalists. (Read the tweets, and watch Stelter’s commentary, below). The chilling phone call, in which the caller erroneously accused Stelter and Lemon of calling all Trump supporters racist, ended with the threat, “They started the war, I see them I’m going to shoot them. Bye.” Stelter pointed out today that the call came the day after Fox News’ Sean Hannity aired a two-year-old clip of Stelter questioning whether “racial anxiety” was a factor in “Trump’s rise.” “I’m not blaming Hannity,” Stelter said. “I just thought the timing was odd.” Earlier this week, MSNBC’s Katy Tur said that she and two female colleagues received notes recently from someone saying “I hope you get raped and killed.” The note ended with “MAGA.” Trump launched today’s battle by tweeting, “The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!” Story continues A short while later, he tweeted, “Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics – and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!” Both the Washington Post and Tapper have reported that Trump is indeed increasingly worried about, as Tapper said today, Junior’s “legal exposure getting in the Mueller probe.” But Tapper and other Sunday pundits also noted that Trump’s morning “enemy of the people” rants also acknowledged that the Trump Tower meeting attended by, among others, his son and a Russian government lawyer was designed to get information on Hillary Clinton. Though the president tweet-claimed that the oppo-research was “totally legal and done all the time in politics,” it thoroughly contradicts his earlier claims that the meeting was called to discuss American adoption of Russian orphans. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos this morning called out his This Week guest, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, for claiming a year ago on the show that Trump wasn’t involved in the Trump Tower meeting at all. Stephanopoulos played a clip from July 2017 in which Sekulow denied any involvement from the president. Stephanopoulos called the contradiction a “remarkable shifting of explanations.” Sekulow said it was a simple mistake. “I was in the case at that point, what, a couple of weeks?,” Sekulow said today. “I had bad information at that point. I made a mistake in my statement, I’ve talked about that before. That happens when you have cases like this.” Here are the president’s tweets, followed by various responses: The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018 Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics – and it went nowhere. I did not know about it! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018 We have a president closer in spirit to Putin than to America. https://t.co/rQpG0mfnb7 — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 5, 2018 This is outrageous. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say to someone accusing me and my colleagues of causing war. I know he’s baiting us to respond. I’m taking the bait in hopes that rational folks realize this is wrong and dangerous. https://t.co/yhS3a8wEaU — Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) August 5, 2018 4/ POTUS this morning said: "This was a meeting to get information on an opponent…" So please feel free to be the judge as to who has been sharing fabrications. — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 5, 2018 Threats against reporters on the rise. We decided to broadcast one of those threats on today's @ReliableSources, so everyone can hear it for themselves. pic.twitter.com/kJxGWKOrWI — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 5, 2018 Related stories John Oliver Tackles Donald Trump, Paul Manafort's Fashion Sense, And New HBO Owner AT&T On 'Last Week Tonight' 'Murphy Brown' Creator Diane English Says She May Need Protection As Series Returns To CBS - TCA Don Lemon Takes Jabs At Donald Trump After LeBron James Interview<doc-sep>CNN hosts Don Lemon and Brian Stelter were the target of a death threat heard on-air Friday during a live C-SPAN program about Trump and his supporters' dislike for news media. The caller identified himself to the "Washington Journal" host as "Don" from State College, Pennsylvania, and a supporter of Trump's criticism of news media outlets. The brief comment made during the live broadcast falsely claimed the CNN hosts labeled all supporters of President Donald Trump as "racists." Stelter later flatly denied he'd made the accusation against supporters of the president, but he did note Fox News' Sean Hannity recently airing a years-old clip of Stelter discussing "racial anxiety" over Trump's election. "Good morning, it all started when Trump got elected," the caller told C-SPAN host Greta Wodele Brawner, with slightly slurred speech. "Brian Stelter and Don Lemon from CNN called Trump supporters 'all racists.' "They don't even know us. They don't even know these Americans out here and they are calling us racists because we voted for Trump? Come on. Give me a break," the caller said. "They started the war. I see them, I'm going to shoot them. Bye." Lemon, who anchors CNN Newsroom, was the target of his own criticism from Trump over an interview he did with NBA star Lebron James Friday. Trump tweeted Saturday morning that James was interviewed by "the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon," before insulting James' own intelligence. Trump flew to Ohio later that night after making the remark about the Akron, Ohio, native who left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this summer. Stelter told viewers during his "Reliable Sources" program on CNN that he was not seeking sympathy by playing the threatening clip. Instead, he said he wanted to shed light on more serious threats against other journalists and his coworkers at the cable news network. Last week, CNN's Jim Acosta was verbally accosted by Trump supporters during a rally in Tampa, Florida. "Threats against reporters on the rise. We decided to broadcast one of those threats on today's @ReliableSources, so everyone can hear it for themselves," Stelter tweeted Sunday morning. Trump has directed several tweets against news media outlets in recent days, doubling down on his oft-repeated phrases of "Fake News" and labeling news outlets the "Enemy of the People." The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018 Just hours after the C-SPAN call threatening to shoot CNN's Lemon and Stelter amid the caller's alleged race "war," Trump tweeted that news outlets "purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!" A Pew Research Center study published in June revealed a growing distrust in news media outlets, with 68 percent of overall Americans saying they're "worn out" by the country's 24-hour news cycle. Just 17 percent of Americans said they think national news organizations are doing well at keeping the public informed of the country's most important stories.<doc-sep>
CNN media reporter Brian Stelter on Sunday aired a clip of a C-SPAN caller threatening to shoot him and fellow CNN anchor Don Lemon. The caller, identified as “Don,” accused Stelter and Lemon of “calling Trump supporters all racists,” a claim Stelter immediately refuted. “They don’t even know these Americans out here and they are calling us racists because we voted for Trump?” Don said in the call on Friday. “Come on. Give me a break. They started the war. I see them, I’m going to shoot them.” ADVERTISEMENT Before airing the clip, Stelter noted that his colleagues and reporters at other networks get similar or worse threats, and noted that such calls and emails are “coming in more often.” “I’m not asking for sympathy. I don’t think I’m in extreme danger, I know some of my colleagues get much worse threats than I do,” Stelter said. “CNN has a great security team and we know how to handle this stuff.” Stelter aired the clip just hours after President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE ramped up his attacks on the press. In a Sunday morning tweet, Trump again called the press “the enemy of the people,” and claimed that they “can also cause War!” The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018 Stelter also aired a clip of MSNBC’s Katy Tur saying that she and a couple of her female colleagues had received emails saying, “I hope you get raped and killed.” “And in case you want to argue that this has nothing to do with the president, the most recent note I got ended with ‘MAGA,’ ” Tur said, referring to the acronym for Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan. Critics of the president have warned that Trump’s constant attacks on the media could lead to violence against journalists — concerns that increased earlier this year after a gunman killed five staff members at a Maryland newspaper. On Friday, New York Times conservative columnist Bret Stephens wrote a column noting that he has also received violent threats from people “whose views clearly align with Donald Trump’s.” “We are approaching a day when blood on the newsroom floor will be blood on the president’s hands,” Stephens wrote.