El Paso County, Colo., just released the following statement in response to a misleading ABC News segment that aired earlier this evening:
On June 28, 2012, Undersheriff Paula Presley participated in an interview with ABC News (National) which aired this evening. The comments that ABC chose to air during the broadcast were taken out of context and misrepresented the facts. The cause of this fire is not yet known. Speaking hypothetically, Undersheriff Presley stated IF this were an act of arson and the suspect’s intent were to burn the forest and set fire to Colorado Springs, then it could be considered an act of domestic terrorism. She reiterated that we do not yet know the cause and whether or not it was accidental or intentional.
Again, the cause of this fire has not been determined. Our Office, along with other local, State, and Federal agencies have dedicated resources to sift through the information that has come in as well as follow up on investigative leads. To state whether this event began as a result of an intentional act, accidental act, or through natural causes cannot be identified until a determination is made by investigators.
Twitter reaction:
El Paso County Sheriff Office blasts ABC Nightly News in press release 4 taking undersheriff quote on #waldocanyonfire start out of context
— Becca Blond ?✈️?? (@PlanetBlond) June 29, 2012
ABC news is WRONG. There is no current ruling on the cause of the #WaldoCanyonFire; not confirmed as arson, terrorism or anything else.
— Julia Leonard (@Julia_E_Leonard) June 29, 2012
As we pointed out this morning, all media outlets make mistakes from time to time. But what do we know … we’re just bloggers.
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