It’s one of those stories that starts off in the simplest way and escalates.
UFC President Dana White has been embroiled in an online dispute with members of Anonymous after his organization expressed support for SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Many back-and-forth exchanges on Twitter and in the media between White and members of Anonymous took place. Supporters of both sides made statements and tweets.
Then came this Jan. 26 Tweet from Mike Rood, a Richmond, CA police officer, supporting White (his Twitter account has since been deleted):
Then, yesterday, all hell broke loose.
Anonymous re-tweeted Mr Rood’s comment, noting that his threat of violence was illegal.
Ahoy @Fan1UFC – well that’s just lovely. An OFFICER OF THE LAW threatening people with WEAPONS/DEADLY FORCE? Isn’t that um, a crime? ClASSy.
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) January 31, 2012
They then called on their Twitter followers to call Officer Rood and his supervisor about his public statements.
Email or Call Sgt. Mike Rood, Richmond PD, Badge #116 about his threats – [email protected] | 510-965-4985 (via @AnonyOps)
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) January 31, 2012
And, they responded. The Richmond, CA Facebook page was flooded with comments about Rood. They were deleted, and have continued to be deleted. The page currently shows no activity since January 26.
The Facebook wall for the local newspaper, the Contra Costa Times, was also flooded with complaints about Mike Rood. those are still up to view.