Discovery Communications headquarters hostage crisis
Encyclopedia
The Discovery Communications headquarters hostage crisis occurred on September 1, 2010 at the headquarters of Discovery Communications
in Silver Spring, Maryland
, United States
, when 43-year-old James Lee, armed with two starter pistols and an explosive device
, took three people hostage
in the building's lobby. After nearly four hours, Lee was shot dead by police and all the hostages were freed. Lee's motive was believed to have been grounded in environmental activism. The University of Maryland
’s START
Center has since labeled the crime a terrorist attack
.
mother, in Los Angeles, California
and raised in Hawaii
. He was an environmental protester who, in 2008, was given six months of supervised probation and fined $500 after he was arrested during a protest outside the Discovery Communications headquarters. In 2003, he was convicted of smuggling
an illegal immigrant
into the country from Mexico and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
, among which was a demand for the company to cease the broadcasting of television series displaying or encouraging the birth of "parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions
". His manifesto also railed against "immigration pollution and anchor baby
filth", leading commentators such as Mark Potok
of the Southern Poverty Law Center
to decry Lee as an "eco-fascist". Lee's opinions were dominated by Malthusian analysis, though he also cited works ranging from Daniel Quinn
's novel My Ishmael
to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore
's documentary An Inconvenient Truth
.
Twitter
The Washington Post credits the Twitter
community for initially breaking the story. Around the start of the incident, Twitter users were posting information and photos, and it was these posts that set the mainstream media in motion.
Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, when 43-year-old James Lee, armed with two starter pistols and an explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
, took three people hostage
Hostage crisis
A hostage crisis develops when one or more terrorists or criminals hold people against their will and try to hold off the authorities by force, threatening to kill the hostages if provoked or attacked....
in the building's lobby. After nearly four hours, Lee was shot dead by police and all the hostages were freed. Lee's motive was believed to have been grounded in environmental activism. The University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
’s START
Global Terrorism Database
The Global Terrorism Database is an open-source database including information on terrorist events around the world from 1970 through 2008 . The GTD includes systematically collected data on domestic as well as international terrorist attacks and now includes more than 87,000 cases...
Center has since labeled the crime a terrorist attack
Terrorism in the United States
A common definition of terrorism is the systematic use or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological change...
.
Incident
The incident began at 1:00pm ET, when 43-year-old James Jay Lee entered the building with two starter pistols and fired a single round at the ceiling of the lobby. The Montgomery County Police Department confirmed that Lee had an explosive device and was holding three people hostage in the lobby. The building was placed on lockdown and most of the 1,500 employees were evacuated. Children from a day care center inside were safely removed to a nearby restaurant. The police began to communicate with Lee soon after the incident began. The Montgomery County police chief, J. Thomas Manger, said that the police were "trying to get him to release the hostages and surrender peacefully". Lee was shot by police at 4:48pm ET after the hostages made a run for freedom. The remaining hostages were immediately freed.Perpetrator
James Jay Lee (c. 1967 – September 1, 2010) was born to a Korean-American father and a JapaneseJapanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
mother, in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and raised in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He was an environmental protester who, in 2008, was given six months of supervised probation and fined $500 after he was arrested during a protest outside the Discovery Communications headquarters. In 2003, he was convicted of smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
an illegal immigrant
Illegal immigration to the United States
An illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
into the country from Mexico and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Motive
Lee had published criticisms of the network in an online manifesto at SaveThePlanetProtest.comSavetheplanetprotest.com
According to WHOIS record, SaveThePlanetProtest.com was first registered on January 7, 2008 under registrant James Lee. The domain was registered with a private registration service, which hid the registrant’s information...
, among which was a demand for the company to cease the broadcasting of television series displaying or encouraging the birth of "parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions
Antinatalism
Antinatalism is a philosophical position that assigns a negative value to birth, standing in opposition to natalism. It has been advanced by figures such as Arthur Schopenhauer, Peter Wessel Zapffe, Heinrich Heine, Emil Cioran, Philipp Mainländer, Philip Larkin, Chris Korda, Matti Häyry, Thomas...
". His manifesto also railed against "immigration pollution and anchor baby
Anchor baby
"Anchor baby" is a pejorative term for a child born in the United States to immigrant parents, who, as an American citizen, supposedly can later facilitate immigration for relatives...
filth", leading commentators such as Mark Potok
Mark Potok
Mark Potok is a spokesman and director of publications and information for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, a nonprofit organization that arose from the anti-segregation movement to counter extremism and hate crimes....
of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
to decry Lee as an "eco-fascist". Lee's opinions were dominated by Malthusian analysis, though he also cited works ranging from Daniel Quinn
Daniel Quinn
Daniel Quinn is an American writer described as an environmentalist. He is best known for his book Ishmael , which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in 1991....
's novel My Ishmael
My Ishmael
My Ishmael is a sidequel to Ishmael and a sequel to The Story of B, both also by Daniel Quinn . Its plot revolves around a gorilla named Ishmael who describes his philosophy regarding tribal society to Julie, a twelve-year-old girl.-Plot summary:...
to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's documentary An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
.
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
community for initially breaking the story. Around the start of the incident, Twitter users were posting information and photos, and it was these posts that set the mainstream media in motion.
External links
- www.savetheplanetprotest.com James Lee's Web site pages containing his manifesto, with two additional pages http://www.savetheplanetprotest.com/discovery.htmhttp://www.savetheplanetprotest.com/protest not linked from the home page
- James Lee's profile and video gallery on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....