On November 10, the Independent devoted a full page to reporting on a “ Santa Ynez Official Identified Among January 6 Mob .” The person who provided information for the story is cited as being “a Santa Barbara-based sedition hunter,” yet every other salient point about this source is clouded in obscurity.
Who, exactly, is going after our fellow citizens in such an aggressive, yet clandestine, manner? Should people who make allegations of disloyalty toward an increasingly authoritarian regime be able to safely hide behind a protective cloak of anonymity? Where is the incentive to not do such things to people who hold views you simply don’t like? Should the Independent be running feature stories based on allegations that could ruin lives, while the accusers remain safely incognito?
“The Santa Barbara investigator asked to remain anonymous, though their [sic] identity is known to the Independent.” Really? Did the Independent contact the subjects of these allegations regarding whether or not they might wish to remain anonymous?