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Murder of Seth Rich

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Seth Conrad Rich (January 3, 1989 – July 10, 2016) was fatally shot in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He was a 27-year-old employee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Early life and career

Rich grew up in Omaha, Nebraska in a Jewish family. In 2011 he graduated from Creighton University where he majored in history and political science.

At the time of his death, Rich was the Voter Expansion Data Director at the DNC, where he had been employed for two years and had worked on a computer application to help voters locate polling stations.

Death and aftermath

Rich was shot about a block from his home in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Police were alerted to gunfire at 4:20 am by an automated gunfire locator called ShotSpotter. Rich was found conscious but later died in the hospital. Newsweek reported that police said he may have been killed in an attempted robbery and that the neighborhood had recently been plagued by robberies. Although Rich's watch strap was torn, nothing had apparently been taken from him. According to police, he died from two shots to the back. Rich's girlfriend told NBC Washington, "There had been a struggle. His hands were bruised, his knees are bruised, his face is bruised, and yet he had two shots to his back, and yet they never took anything...They didn't finish robbing him, they just took his life."

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement mourning the loss and praising Rich's work "to protect the most sacred right we share as Americans — the right to vote." Hillary Clinton spoke of this fatality during a speech advocating limiting the availability of guns. Rich's parents and girlfriend appeared on Crime Watch Daily to speak about the murder case. In October 2016, a plaque and bike rack outside the DNC headquarters were dedicated to Rich's memory. In February 2017, the Beth El Synagogue in Omaha named an existing scholarship after Rich, one which helps Jewish children attend summer camps.

Conspiracy theories

Newsweek, an American weekly news magazine, reported that Seth Rich's murder stoked right wing "Clinton conspiracy theories" and that Rich's parents were "distressed" by the politicization of his murder.

Subsequent to Rich's murder, unsupported conspiracy theories about Rich's death were spread on the Internet, linking motivation for the Rich killing to the Clinton campaign, allegedly to prevent him from meeting with the FBI at 4:00 AM in the morning, over plans to testify against Hillary Clinton; or otherwise, due to speculation of Rich's possible involvement in the leaking of sensitive DNC information in July, 2016.

Snopes.com a website covering urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of unknown or questionable origin, well-known for validating and debunking stories in American popular culture, has declared that an unreliable conspiracy website spread FALSE information about the killing DNC staffer Seth Rich.

Surprisingly, alternative conspiracy theories do not appear to exist on-line, proposing that motivation for the Rich killing was linked to the Trump Campaign; to silence a Trump Campaign supported, DNC "Mole (espionage)".

On January 10, 2017 CNN reported on the existence of classified documents that claimed Russia had compromising personal and financial information about President-elect, Donald Trump. Later the same day, BuzzFeed published a 35-page dossier in full. The Donald Trump–Russia dossier , from former British MI6 intelligence agent, Christopher Steele, alleges, inter-alia, that "TRUMP's team (was) using moles within DNC". At the time of publication, BuzzFeed said that the dossier was unverified and "includes some clear errors".

WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organization that publishes secret information, news leaks and classified media from anonymous sources,, who had published sensitive emails hacked from the DNC in July, 2016, announced on Twitter that they had offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) who killed Seth Conrad Rich. It is not clear what may have motivated WikiLeaks to offer such a reward. In a statement sent to The Washington Times through WikiLeaks' Twitter account, WikiLeaks refused to confirm or deny if Rich had ever been a source for WikiLeaks.

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia issued a statement on August 10, 2016 stating: "At this time, there is no indication that Seth Rich's death is connected to his employment at the DNC," and requested assistance from the public in generating new leads in the case.

Rewards for information

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC) posted its customary reward of $25,000 for information about the death. In August, WikiLeaks offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction; Rich's family said that they were unable to verify this reward offer. Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman has offered an additional $105,000.

See also

References

  1. ^ Morton, Joseph. "D.C. police, family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich urge anyone with information about murder to come forward", Omaha World-Herald (August 4, 2016; Updated August 10, 2016).
  2. ^ Morton, Joseph. "WikiLeaks offers $20,000 reward for help finding Omaha native Seth Rich's killer", Omaha World-Herald (August 10, 2016; Updated August 11, 2016): "Rich had worked for the DNC for two years and helped develop a computer program to make it easier for people to find polling places on Election Day."
  3. Kamp-Wright, Annette van de (July 20, 2016). "Seth Conrad Rich". The Jewish Press. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  4. Feldman, Ari (July 11, 2016). "Promising Jewish Democratic National Committee Staffer Shot Dead on Own Washington D.C. Block". Forward.com. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "Rich, Seth C." Omaha World-Herald. July 13, 2016.
  6. ^ Hermann, Peter (July 12, 2016). "Hillary Clinton invokes name of slain DNC aide Seth Rich in calling for gun control". Washington Post.
  7. (August 11, 2016). DNC Employee Fatally Shot in DC. WUSA. Retrieved: September 2, 2016.
  8. Rojas, Warren (July 11, 2016). "DNC Staffer Killed in DC". Roll Call.
  9. ^ Stein, Jeff (August 20, 2016). "Seth Rich: Inside the Killing of the DNC Staffer". Newsweek.
  10. ^ Khan, Mariam. DNC Employee Shot Dead in DC Over the Weekend, ABC News (11 July 2016).
  11. ^ (August 5, 2016). Mother, Police Seeking Tips on Killing of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. NBC Washington. Retrieved: August 22, 2016.
  12. ^ Shrier, Adam. "Democratic National Committee staffer killed in Washington, D.C. shooting", New York Daily News (July 11, 2016).
  13. ^ Hermann, Peter; Williams, Clarence (July 11, 2016). "Slain Democratic National Committee staffer 'wanted to make a difference'". Washington Post.
  14. "Is Julian Assange Exposing Innocent People to Persecution With Reckless Leaks?". The Nation. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  15. Collins, Pat; Swalec, Andrea (July 11, 2016). "27-Year-Old DNC Staffer Seth Rich Shot, Killed in Northwest DC". NBC Washington.
  16. "Family of murdered DNC employee Seth Rich speaks out on 'Crime Watch'". KOMO. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  17. Kurzius, Rachel (October 3, 2016). "Murdered DNC Staffer's Mom: 'Seth Would Be So Offended' By Conspiracy Theories". DCist. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  18. Burdine, Nikki (October 17, 2016). "DNC honors murdered staffer Seth Rich". WUSA. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  19. Kelly, Michael (February 25, 2017). "Kelly: Camp scholarship memorializes Omahan Seth Rich, who was killed in D.C. in July". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  20. Stein, Jeff. "Seth Rich: Inside the Killing of the DNC Staffer – Newsweek". newsweek.com. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  21. "Seth Rich Homicide: A conspiracy site latched on to the tragic murder of young DNC staffer Seth Rich to spread false information about his killing". Snopes.com. 2016.
  22. Noble, Andria; Blake, Andrew. "WikiLeaks Offers $20,000 for Information About Killing of DNC Staffer – The Washington Times". washingtontimes.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  23. "Snopes.com: Debunking Myths in Cyberspace]". NPR. August 27, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2005.
  24. Henry, Neil (2007). American Carnival: Journalism Under Siege in an Age of New Media. University of California Press. p. 285.
  25. "Seth Rich Homicide: A conspiracy site latched on to the tragic murder of young DNC staffer Seth Rich to spread false information about his killing". Snopes.com. 2016.
  26. Ember, Sydney (January 10, 2017). "BuzzFeed Posts Unverified Claims on Trump, Igniting a Debate".
  27. COMPANY INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2016/095 (Report). buzzfeed.com. January 10, 2017.
  28. Graham, David A. (January 11, 2017). "The Trouble With Publishing the Trump Dossier". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  29. Editors, The (16 August 2012). "WikiLeaks – The New York Times". Topics.nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 August 2012. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  30. Noble, Andria; Blake, Andrew. "WikiLeaks Offers $20,000 for Information About Killing of DNC Staffer – The Washington Times". washingtontimes.com. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  31. Noble, Andria; Blake, Andrew (10 August 2016). "WikiLeaks Offers $20,000 for Information About Killing of DNC Staffer – The Washington Times". washingtontimes.com.
  32. "WikiLeaks offers reward for help finding DNC staffer's killer", Washington Post (10 August 2016).
  33. ^ Morton, Joseph (November 23, 2016). "Parents of DNC staffer Seth Rich vow to find his killer; reward now $125,000". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  34. "GOP lobbyist adds $5K to reward for info on murder of former DNC staffer Seth Rich", WJLA-TV (December 5, 2016).
  35. Roig-Franzia, Manuel. "Seth Rich wasn’t just another D.C. murder victim. He was a meme in the weirdest presidential election of our times", The Washington Post (January 18, 2017).

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