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Kansas man charged with threatening to shoot Trump before Wichita-area rally

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 11 outlets, mostly right-leaning (64%).

12 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Federal prosecutors in Kansas have charged Jaden J. Read, 24, with making threats against President Donald Trump, according to a Justice Department press release. The complaint alleges that Read posted Facebook comments responding to local news articles about Trump’s visit to the Wichita area, including one that said, “Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter?” He is also accused of saying he had mapped rooftops near the venue where Trump was to speak. A Crime Stoppers tip led investigators to the comments. Read has been taken into federal custody.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Federal prosecutors charged Jaden Read, 24, of Kansas, with making threats against President Donald Trump, according to a Justice Department press release.

    Reported byLeft3Center1Right3Far Right4See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News, ABC News, The Guardian
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, The Washington Times
    Far Right
    Just the News, Fox News, The Epoch Times, TheBlaze

  2. Read is accused of posting Facebook comments in response to local news articles about Trump’s visit to the Wichita area.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

  3. Read allegedly wrote, “Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter?”

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    The Hill
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

  4. Read allegedly said he had mapped out rooftops near the venue where Trump was expected to speak.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News, The Epoch Times, TheBlaze

  5. A Crime Stoppers tip led investigators to the Facebook comments, according to the Justice Department.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

  6. Read has been taken into federal custody.

    Reported byLeft3Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News, ABC News, The Guardian
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that federal prosecutors charged Jaden Read, 24, over Facebook comments threatening to shoot Trump before his Wichita-area rally. Right-side outlets lead with the threat and the mapped rooftops, while the center and left put the arrest and charge first.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left-side headlines lead with the arrest and a federal threat charge; NBC states the threat without “allegedly”, as do right-side headlines such as the Washington Times’s, while ABC and the Guardian keep the hedge.

    Man arrested for threatening to kill Trump
    NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The Hill’s headline leads with the arrest and a quoted Facebook post, “let’s shoot Trump”, so the words attributed to Read frame the story.

    Kansas man arrested after 'let's shoot Trump' social media post
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    7 outlets

    Right-side headlines lead with the alleged threat to shoot Trump and the Facebook setting; TheBlaze, the far-right outlet, leads with a quoted slang phrase, “Finna get kirked”.

    Kansas man arrested for threatening on Facebook to shoot Trump at rally
    The Washington TimesRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center1

    vowed to shoot

  • Right1

    wanted to kill

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    vowed to shootMore neutral: threatened to shoot

    “Vowed” implies a firm commitment to act, while the reported post is a comment whose intent is still an allegation.

    A Kansas man allegedly vowed to shoot President Trump and researched nearby rooftops last week ahead of his Wichita-area…

    Used byThe Hill (Center)

  • Absolutist framing

    wanted to killMore neutral: allegedly wrote that he wanted to kill

    States an allegation as established fact, although the man has been charged and not convicted.

    A Kansas man is in federal custody after commenting on Facebook that he wanted to kill President Trump.

    Used byThe Washington Times (Right)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    Finna get kirkedMore neutral: Kansas man arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot Trump

    Leads the headline with a slang phrase from the alleged post, which signals the meaning of the threat before the charge is stated.

    ‘Finna get kirked’: Kansas man arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot Trump

    Quoted byTheBlaze (Far Right)

    These words are attributed to Jaden J. Read. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • arrest by federal authorities
  • alleged threats to shoot Trump
  • Crime Stoppers tip
  • comments on local news posts
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The GuardianLeft

    24-year-old Kansas man arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump

    Jaden J Read was arrested after federal authorities say he posted threats online before president’s Wichita rally A 24-year-old Kansas man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump . …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeft

    Man arrested for alleged threats to shoot President Trump at Kansas rally

    Authorities allege the man posted several threatening messages on Facebook.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)
  • NBC NewsLeft

    Man arrested for threatening to kill Trump

    The Secret Service arrested a man for allegedly threatening to kill President Trump in Kansas, where the president is rallying Republican voters. NBC News’ Garrett Haake reports.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • quoted Facebook post
  • rooftops researched near the rally
  • charged Saturday
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Kansas man arrested after 'let's shoot Trump' social media post

    A Kansas man allegedly vowed to shoot President Trump and researched nearby rooftops last week ahead of his Wichita-area rally. Jaden J. Read, 24, was charged Saturday for making threats against the president. “Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter? …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

7 outlets

Leads with

  • alleged threat to shoot Trump
  • mapped rooftops near the venue
  • federal custody
  • slang phrase from the post
See the 7 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • TheBlazeFar Right

    ‘Sensational language“Finna get kirked”Leads the headline with a slang phrase from the alleged post, which signals the meaning of the threat before the charge is stated.More neutral: Kansas man arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot TrumpThese words are attributed to Jaden J. Read. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?’: Kansas man arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot Trump

    A 24-year-old Kansas man is in federal custody after allegedly threatening on Facebook to kill President Donald Trump. Jaden J. Read was arrested after the U.S. …

    Read at TheBlaze (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Kansas man arrested for threatening on Facebook to shoot Trump at rally

    A Kansas man is in federal custody after commenting on Facebook that he Absolutist framing“wanted to kill”States an allegation as established fact, although the man has been charged and not convicted.More neutral: allegedly wrote that he wanted to killDisagree with this highlight? President Trump.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    Kansas Man Arrested Over Alleged Threats of Violence Against Trump

    In one of his comments, the man allegedly wrote that he had 'already mapped out roofs around' the venue where Trump was expected to speak.

    Read at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Kansas man mapped rooftops near Trump speech site, threatened to shoot president: DOJ

    Jaden Read allegedly posted Facebook threats to shoot President Donald Trump and claimed he mapped rooftops near the planned Wichita, Kansas, speech.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Man charged with threatening to kill Trump ahead of Kansas rally

    A Kansas man has been charged with threatening to kill President Donald Trump during the president's visit to Wichita.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    Man charged in threat to ‘shoot Trump’ ahead of Kansas rally

    A Kansas man has been charged with threatening to kill President Donald Trump after allegedly posting online comments about shooting the president and claiming to have mapped out nearby rooftops ahead of Trump’s Monday visit to Wichita. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (opens in a new tab)
  • Just the NewsFar Right

    DOJ charges man for making threats against President Donald Trump ahead of Kansas rally

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas filed a criminal complaint against 24-year-old Jaden Read on Saturday after he allegedly made a handful of threatening comments against the president on Facebook last week.

    Read at Just the News (opens in a new tab)
    1 more from Just the News

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    2 hr 41 min later

    Its first report, Oct 19, 6:51 PM EDT

  • Center

    6 hr 41 min later

    Its first report, Oct 19, 10:52 PM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    Washington Examiner, Oct 19, 4:10 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Washington ExaminerRightOct 19, 4:10 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 19, 4:30 PM EDT
  3. NBC NewsLeftOct 19, 6:51 PM EDT
  4. Fox NewsFar RightOct 19, 6:59 PM EDT
  5. The HillCenterOct 19, 10:52 PM EDT
  6. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 20, 10:55 AM EDT
  7. ABC NewsLeftOct 20, 12:38 PM EDT
  8. The Washington TimesRightOct 20, 1:14 PM EDT
  9. TheBlazeFar RightOct 20, 2:45 PM EDT
  10. The GuardianLeftOct 21, 12:35 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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