Loony leftist Air America radio host Randi Rhodes was allegedly mugged Sunday night in New York outside her apartment, and the cast and crew of Air America already know who to blame.

Jon Elliott was extremely agitated when he reported on the incident. He opened his show by saying “it is with sadness that tonight I inform you that my Air America colleague Randi Rhodes was assaulted last night while walking her dog near her New York City home.”

Pointing out that Rhodes was wearing a jogging suit and displayed no purse or jewelry, Elliott speculated that “this does not appear to me to be a standard grab the money and run mugging.”

“Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own,” he asked. “Are we threatening them. Are they afraid that we’re winning. Are they trying to silence intimidate us.”

Some of blog posters also expressed concerns that the attack on Rhodes was hate crime. Other posters warned that we need more facts before any judgements are made.

When has that stopped you in the past?

UPDATE at 10/16/07 8:15:43 am:

Comments at Think Progress:

How much you wanna bet it was an O’Reilly listener(or a deranged idiot-there’s really not much difference..)

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Thom Hartmann found bullet holes in his car recently.

We may have another freeper nut on the loose.

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If they think this may stop Randi, they have another thought coming. That lady is tough and she’s gonna be really pissed!

I really fear what is going to happen to our country when the Republicans are finally put in their place. I fear we are going to see a lot of violent incidents because these people are going to be looking for a way to vent their frustrations and with encouragement by the likes of Billo, Hannity and Malkin, it could get ugly.

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I suspect that the Thom Hartman and Randi Rhodes incidents are not unrelated. The wackos realize that they are under pressure and are reacting in the only way they know how. Facts and reality are simply things that need to be beaten out of the way. I suspect and hope that she will recover quickly and not be subjected to PTSD.

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Rhodes was probably beaten up by some nutball in the Mallkin Mongoloid Mafia… thats the type of viscous rabid people they are..

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yep coulter has been pied before.. not sure if it hit.. dont think it did, sadly..
im in full support of drive by “pie-ings”. for what its worth, cupcakes with lots of frosting make better aiming…

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This is what kind of cowards on the right are, mugging a woman, Roger Roger Ron Rory BigIdiot this is your type, this is YOUR SIDE, this is something that YOU WOULD DO AND APPROVE OF. You are scum.

My sympathy and hope that you recover Randi and really hope the Police (ha, the probably approve of it) catch this scum and expose the ReighWingers for what they are.

Buck Fush

UPDATE at 10/16/07 8:58:28 am:

Air America now says there was no hate crime, and although their report is unclear (like their ideology), it seems there may not even have been a mugging.

October 16-NEW YORK-On Sunday evening, October 14, Air America host Randi Rhodes experienced an unfortunate incident hindering her from hosting her show. The reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded. Ms. Rhodes looks forward to being back on the air on Thursday.

UPDATE at 10/16/07 10:36:14 am:

No mugging, just some incredibly irresponsible claims from Air America host Jon Elliott. She fell while walking her dog: Air America host Randi Rhodes wasn’t mugged.

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today.

Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.

“Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?” he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. “Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan’s 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

Rhodes’ lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she’s not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a “hate crime.”

(Hat tip: LGF readers.)

UPDATE at 10/16/07 12:15:06 pm:

Gawker.com may not be the most reliable source, but one of their readers emailed with what he says is the rest of the story:

Randi Rhodes was no more assaulted by a right-wing fanatic on Monday than Dick Cheney was. She, in fact, fell down and injured her teeth outside of a Midtown Irish bar at around 6 o’clock Sunday evening after downing about fourteen Ketel One Bloody Marys. She was abusive to the barstaff and generally gross, crass, loud, and pretentious. I genuinely hope she has a speedy recovery. I never would’ve disclosed this (I believe that anyone should feel free to hang out at Irish pubs at any time and not be concerned about someone publishing their behavior) if Air America hadn’t grossly interpreted a drunken indiscretion and allowed it to be morphed into some bullish rhetoric on air. Whatever journalistic integrity the station may have ever had is now completely compromised. The manipulation of the public diminishes any cause, whether just or fabricated.

UPDATE at 10/16/07 12:46:09 pm:

BitsBlog has uncovered the most blatant leftist double standard of the week.