# Was anti-gun activist Jennifer Longdon spit on at an Indianapolis airport? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 23, 2014, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078 "2014-05-23T10:44:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/1 "2014-05-23T10:44:40Z")
I don’t know what to make of this story. On May 15 _Mother Jones_ published an article titled [_Spitting, Stalking, Rape Threats: How Gun Extremists Target Women_](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/guns-bullying-open-carry-women-moms-texas). In it they told the story of Jennifer Longdon. > [@](#): > > As Jennifer Longdon steered her wheelchair through the Indianapolis airport on April 25, she thought the roughest part of her trip was over. Earlier that day she’d participated in an emotional press conference with the new group Everytown for Gun Safety, against the backdrop of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting. A mom, gun owner, and Second Amendment supporter, Longdon was paralyzed in 2004 after being shot in her car by unknown assailants, and has since been a vocal advocate for comprehensive background checks and other gun reforms. > > As Longdon sat waiting for her flight, a screen in the concourse showed footage of the press conference. A tall, thin man standing nearby stared at Longdon, then back at the screen. Then he walked up to Longdon and spat in her face. No one else blinked. > > Longdon was shocked and embarrassed, she told me, but she didn’t falter. “Wow, aren’t you a big man,” she said as he turned and walked away. Instead of calling for security, she wheeled herself to a restroom to clean herself off. She was tired—she lives with constant physical pain—and didn’t want to miss her flight. This article was written in response: [_Busted! Mother Jones Caught Lying – Airport Spitting Incident Was a Hoax …UPDATED_](http://www.progressivestoday.com/busted-mother-jones-caught-lying-airport-spitting-incident-was-a-hoax-video/) > [@](#): > > Hmm. So this incident reportedly occurred on April 25 at the Indianapolis airport after the concourse television aired a report on the Every Town for Gun Safety protest outside the NRA convention? > > That’s odd – the TV report never made it on the Everytown for Gun Safety website. > And, since the Indianapolis airport airs CNN on their TV screens you’d think you could find their report on the protest on their website, right? > Nope. It’s not there. > CNN has no record of the protest. The reasoning of course is idiotic. Because CNN is aired at the airport, CNN should have a record of the incident? 😕 Then there’s this article - [http://danaloeschradio.com/are-anti-gun-extremists-maligning-pro-2a-women-and-men-with-false-stories/#sthash.JcxucLE9.dpuf](http://danaloeschradio.com/are-anti-gun-extremists-maligning-pro-2a-women-and-men-with-false-stories/#sthash.JcxucLE9.dpuf) - which takes the stance that because the airport was busy it should be easy to obtain security footage. Again: 😕 _Mother Jones_ has responded to these articles. [No, the Spitting Attack on a Paralyzed Mom Was Not a Hoax](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/guns-bullying-spitting-jennifer-longdon-dana-loesch) > [@](#): > > Longdon spoke to me in detail, in multiple interviews, about what she went through in Indianapolis. It was one of many such incidents of harassment and bullying she has endured over several years as an outspoken woman and advocate of gun reform. I confirmed her account of the spitting attack in the airport with other people who she spoke to about it at the time of the incident. The additional harassment and stalking she endured in Phoenix last year, also detailed in my report, was corroborated by a Phoenix police official directly involved in the case. > > Each person I spoke with about Longdon in the course of my reporting conveyed that she is a person of integrity and fortitude, qualities you might not be surprised to hear attributed to a person who travels around the country in a wheelchair, in constant physical pain, to advocate for greater public safety. Nobody I spoke with relied on bizarre conjecture and a quick google search, keyword “CNN,” to insinuate she was a liar. So, we have _Mother Jones_, an admittedly biased but respected publication making a claim based largely on what they believe to be the integrity of the claimant but somewhat corroborated by police reports of Longdon enduring another similar incident. On the other, we have a couple of bloggers loudly shouting “PROVEN HOAX” based on bizarre non-logic. There’s no proof of Longdon’s claim, and there have been similar hoaxes on both sides of the political spectrum, but there are other incidents that are better documented that at least give plausibility to her claims. What’s the truth here? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/2 "2014-05-23T12:13:49Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > The reasoning of course is idiotic. Because CNN is aired at the airport, CNN should have a record of the incident? 😕 No, that’s not what they’re saying. They’re claiming that CNN never aired any footage of the protest that happened earlier in the day. Said footage was supposedly aired at the airport, enabling the spitter to recognize Longdon. The blogger is saying that never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/3 "2014-05-23T12:38:49Z")
Hmm…I have to say, this incident seems unlikely to me. I’d assign blame as follows: -The activist sounds to me like she’s lying. I can’t know for sure, but without other eyewitnesses, police reports, etc., I’m not believing her. -Mother Jones is almost certainly not lying, but this is very sloppy journalism. They act as though they confirmed her story, but all they confirmed is that she told the same story to other people. That does absolutely nothing to confirm that she’s not lying. -The blogger needs to be clear that he’s not busted Mother Jones for lying; he lacks a smoking gun, which is just the way the activist likes it. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/4 "2014-05-23T13:19:46Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > No, that’s not what they’re saying. They’re claiming that CNN never aired any footage of the protest that happened earlier in the day. Said footage was supposedly aired at the airport, enabling the spitter to recognize Longdon. The blogger is saying that never happened. No, I had to read it several times to parse what they’re saying. Here’s their train of thought: Argument 1) “Every Town for Gun Safety” website makes no mention of media coverage of their press conference (???) Argument 2a) The media coverage was allegedly viewed at the Indianapolis Airport Argument 2b) The Indianapolis Airport has their TVs tuned to CNN Argument 2c) CNN has no coverage of the press conference on their website Argument 1 makes no sense to me, since it’s not typical for organizations to announce media coverage of their own _press releases_. Argument 2 makes no sense to me because there’s no rule that says everything CNN airs has to make it to their website. The logic is just as silly as **davidm** makes it sound. That said, I agree 100% with **Left Hand of Dorkness**. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/5 "2014-05-23T13:26:14Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > On the other, we have a couple of bloggers loudly shouting “PROVEN HOAX” based on bizarre non-logic. You now understand that the logic is not bizarre, right? As **Labrador Deceiver** points out, the blogger is saying, in effect, “I know Longdon is lying, based on this claim:” > [@](#): > > As Longdon sat waiting for her flight, a screen in the concourse showed footage of the press conference. A tall, thin man standing nearby stared at Longdon, then back at the screen. Then he walked up to Longdon and spat in her face. No one else blinked. A screen in the concourse did NOT ever show footage of the press conference. The screens in the concourse are continually tuned to CNN, and CNN never showed this footage. Longdon’s explanation for how the tall, thin man recognized her was seeing her on the screen, identified as an anti-gun activist, as well as in person. But, says the blogger, we know that never happened. So – assuming the blogger is correct about CNN and the concourse screens, Longdon lied, and Mother Jones credulously accepted the lie. I think Mother Jones did nothing overtly wrong initially – they clearly identified the source of their story and accurately reported what that source said. Expecting a Mother Jones fact-checker to verify what the screens in the concourse were airing before going to print seems a bit over-the-top. But their continued defense of the story now is shoddy journalism. Now they have notice of the specific evidence, they should either confirm or deny its truth, rather than continue to rely on the reputation of Longdon. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/6 "2014-05-23T13:51:22Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > No, I had to read it several times to parse what they’re saying. Here’s their train of thought: > > Argument 1) “Every Town for Gun Safety” website makes no mention of media coverage of their press conference (???) > > Argument 2a) The media coverage was allegedly viewed at the Indianapolis Airport > Argument 2b) The Indianapolis Airport has their TVs tuned to CNN > Argument 2c) CNN has no coverage of the press conference on their website > Argument 1 makes no sense to me, since it’s not typical for organizations to announce media coverage of their own _press releases_. Argument 2 makes no sense to me because there’s no rule that says everything CNN airs has to make it to their website. The logic is just as silly as **davidm** makes it sound. > > That said, I agree 100% with **Left Hand of Dorkness**. They’re basically saying they don’t think coverage was ever aired. They are basing it in the fact that they can’t find any evidence of the coverage. They may be wrong, but their argument isn’t particularly difficult to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/7 "2014-05-23T13:51:26Z")
In this day and age, it seems like it would be pretty easy to verify 1) what station the airport monitors are tuned to and 2) everything that CNN Airport aired that day. Why hasn’t anyone done this? Also, some rudimentary googling suggests that Indianapolis International Airport uses CNN Airport, which shows different content than regular CNN. I think the burden of proof is on the right-wing bloggers to show that the news conference wasn’t shown on CNN Airport. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/8 "2014-05-23T13:51:52Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Argument 2a) The media coverage was allegedly viewed at the Indianapolis Airport > Argument 2b) The Indianapolis Airport has their TVs tuned to CNN > Argument 2c) CNN has no coverage of the press conference on their website > Argument 1 makes no sense to me, since it’s not typical for organizations to announce media coverage of their own _press releases_. Argument 2 makes no sense to me because there’s no rule that says everything CNN airs has to make it to their website. The logic is just as silly as **davidm** makes it sound. > > That said, I agree 100% with **Left Hand of Dorkness**. OK. This should still be easy to verify. I do think that everything CNN airs (except commercials?) does make it to the website. But even if that’s wrong, CNN can certainly confirm or deny whether the clip aired. At that point, we’ll know. So assuming CNN says, “Actually, even though it’s not on the website, we did air it, and during the time that Longdon would have been in the concourse,” then we can say the blogger is wrong. And in the alternative, if CNN says, “No, not only is it not on website, but we never aired it,” then it would seem likely Longdon fabricated the event. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/9 "2014-05-23T13:53:45Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > In this day and age, it seems like it would be pretty easy to verify 1) what station the airport monitors are tuned to and 2) everything that CNN Airport aired that day. Why hasn’t anyone done this? > > Also, some rudimentary googling suggests that Indianapolis International Airport uses CNN Airport, which shows different content than regular CNN. I think the burden of proof is on the right-wing bloggers to show that the news conference wasn’t shown on CNN Airport. You don’t think there is some burden on proof on the person claiming to have been spit on? I mean, I agree that the blogger is jumping to some pretty hasty conclusions, but we ought to treat this story with a rather large dose of skepticism. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/10 "2014-05-23T14:11:48Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > They’re basically saying they don’t think coverage was ever aired. They are basing it in the fact that they can’t find any evidence of the coverage. They may be wrong, but their argument isn’t particularly difficult to understand. They can’t find any evidence of the coverage on a _different medium_ some unknown time period after the coverage aired. “They may be wrong” is absolutely right, and it’s why they shouldn’t be going around saying “BUSTED!” > [@Bricker](#): > > OK. This should still be easy to verify. I do think that everything CNN airs (except commercials?) does make it to the website. But even if that’s wrong, CNN can certainly confirm or deny whether the clip aired. At that point, we’ll know. Sure, that would at least be evidence. I don’t think we’d _know_, but it’s certainly a better argument than they’ve got right now. It may still be that one TV was tuned to MSNBC. > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I mean, I agree that the blogger is jumping to some pretty hasty conclusions, but we ought to treat this story with a rather large dose of skepticism. Exactly, this is shoddy journalism all around. On the one hand, Mother Jones is taking this questionable story at face value, and acting like they’ve “verified” it because the blogger filed a police report about some other harassment that may or may not have happened either. And Dana Loesch is calling bunk based on conspiracy-theory logic. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/11 "2014-05-23T14:23:53Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > They can’t find any evidence of the coverage on a _different medium_ some unknown time period after the coverage aired. “They may be wrong” is absolutely right, and it’s why they shouldn’t be going around saying “BUSTED!” They can’t find evidence of it anywhere. The CNN website is the logical place to start, but I’m guessing they also checked the internet (YouTube, etc). Has anyone actually come forward with any CNN footage? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/12 "2014-05-23T14:41:16Z")
A further claim from the story is that “no one else blinked” when a man spit into the face of a woman in a wheelchair. If the phrase used was “no one else noticed”, that would be one thing. But ISTM that the implication is that others saw it, but didn’t react. I find it hard to believe that people spitting on the wheelchair-bound is so common as to escape comment in Indianapolis Airport. Or that anti-gun activists are so instantly recognized, and universally depised, that no one blinks an eye when people spit on them in public. Again, if no one else blinked because no one else noticed, it would have been more accurate to say so instead of phrasing it as it was phrased. But the reporter claims > [@](#): > > I confirmed her account of the spitting attack in the airport with other people who she spoke to about it at the time of the incident. The two statements, taken together, seem to be saying that those with whom the reporter allegedly spoke to confirm the incident either didn’t see it, or didn’t care that it happened. So either the people he spoke with said the equivalent of ‘sure, someone spit in her face - so what?’ or else ‘she complained someone spit in her face, but we didn’t see it’. This woman claims that she gets harassed a lot. I read the _Mother Jones_ account of the previous incident in Phoenix, where someone allegedly squirted this woman with a water gun. The reporter claims > [@](#): > > The additional harassment and stalking she endured in Phoenix last year, also detailed in my report, was corroborated by a Phoenix police official directly involved in the case. Which sounds like the same sort of “corroboration” as with the spitting incident - the police were never able to locate the person who allegedly threatened her. So perhaps the reporter spoke with the police officer who took her complaint. The fact that there were no witnesses to the squirting incident does not prove she is lying, of course, but it also does not constitute proof that it happened. So it is not very good colloboration, IMO. Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence, of course. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/13 "2014-05-23T16:43:32Z")
_Corroboration._ My only concern is the claim that the airport doesn’t have any security footage of the incident. Regardless of whether they did, why would they release it? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/14 "2014-05-23T16:51:16Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > You now understand that the logic is not bizarre, right? > > As **Labrador Deceiver** points out, the blogger is saying, in effect, “I know Longdon is lying, based on this claim:” > > A screen in the concourse did NOT ever show footage of the press conference. The screens in the concourse are continually tuned to CNN, and CNN never showed this footage. Longdon’s explanation for how the tall, thin man recognized her was seeing her on the screen, identified as an anti-gun activist, as well as in person. But, says the blogger, we know that never happened. > > So – assuming the blogger is correct about CNN and the concourse screens, Longdon lied, and Mother Jones credulously accepted the lie. I think Mother Jones did nothing overtly wrong initially – they clearly identified the source of their story and accurately reported what that source said. Expecting a Mother Jones fact-checker to verify what the screens in the concourse were airing before going to print seems a bit over-the-top. > > But their continued defense of the story now is shoddy journalism. Now they have notice of the specific evidence, they should either confirm or deny its truth, rather than continue to rely on the reputation of Longdon. > [@steronz](#): > > They can’t find any evidence of the coverage on a _different medium_ some unknown time period after the coverage aired. “They may be wrong” is absolutely right, and it’s why they shouldn’t be going around saying “BUSTED!” > > Sure, that would at least be evidence. I don’t think we’d _know_, but it’s certainly a better argument than they’ve got right now. It may still be that one TV was tuned to MSNBC. > > Exactly, this is shoddy journalism all around. On the one hand, Mother Jones is taking this questionable story at face value, and acting like they’ve “verified” it because the blogger filed a police report about some other harassment that may or may not have happened either. And Dana Loesch is calling bunk based on conspiracy-theory logic. This reminds me of that time that girl told the press that some black guy carved a “B” on her face after seeing a John McCain bumper sticker on her car. With that said, I suppose it could be true. Lots of crazy shit happens every day. You should try sitting in an arraignment court on a Monday and see what sorts of crazy shit had happened over the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/15 "2014-05-23T16:56:21Z")
Maybe the woman would need to file a police report and have the security footage subpoenaed. Spitting on someone is assault and battery AFAIK. Maybe the woman doesn’t want to file such a report. This could be for a number of reasons - [ul][li]She tried that in Phoenix and nothing came of it, so it isn’t worth the trouble.[/li][li]She wants to put the incident behind her. [/li][li]The incident either didn’t happen at all, or didn’t happen as she describes it, and she doesn’t care to have that known.[/li][li]It’s easier to leave things as they are. Those who want to believe her have enough corroboration from _Mother Jones_ to satisfy them, and she really has nothing much to gain from more efforts.[/ul][/li] Regards. Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/16 "2014-05-23T17:04:59Z")
Well, that’s kind of the point. She didn’t report the incident to police and isn’t suing anyone so there is nothing compelling the airport to release the recording. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/17 "2014-05-23T17:20:43Z")
I don’t think they’d release them to some blogger, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/18 "2014-05-23T17:28:32Z")
Agreed. Privacy concerns might even be pushing the other way, which is why I mentioned a subpoena. Absent any proof that CNN aired the footage of the press conference at the time she claimed, I am going to consider this as unproven. A lot seems to happen to this woman, and they never seem to catch the perpetrators. She gets squirted with a water gun, and the squirter gets away. She is shot and put into a wheel chair, and the shooter never gets found. People spit on her and no one notices. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/19 "2014-05-23T17:31:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Maybe the woman would need to file a police report and have the security footage subpoenaed. Spitting on someone is assault and battery AFAIK. Absolutely. Given the legend that has grown up about uncorroborated accounts of Vietnam-era protesters routinely spitting on returning vets (who apparently never defended themselves or filed police reports), I am skeptical about this woman’s story until proof appears. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078/20 "2014-05-23T17:35:46Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Absent any proof that CNN aired the footage of the press conference at the time she claimed, I am going to consider this as unproven. Agreed. > [@](#): > > A lot seems to happen to this woman, and they never seem to catch the perpetrators. She gets squirted with a water gun, and the squirter gets away. She is shot and put into a wheel chair, and the shooter never gets found. People spit on her and no one notices. > > Regards, > Shodan … are you suggesting she is pretending to be unable to walk, or that she wasn’t really shot? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078.md?page=2)