James Michael Holmes, Hispanic Tea Party Member Falsely Accused by ABC

by: Joel B. Pollak 

Breitbart News spoke to James Michael Holmes, the Tea Party member falsely identified this morning by ABC News' Brian Ross and George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America as the possible suspect in the mass shooting early this morning at a screening of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. He is a 52-year-old Hispanic conservative who joined the Tea Party after becoming disillusioned with the Republican party.

"It was freaky," said Holmes, describing his reaction when ABC News speculated that he was the culprit who entered a crowded theater and opened fire on dozens of innocent men, women, and children. He disconnected his telephone and says that he is worried about members of his family who might be contacted by the media.

ABC News has since corrected its initial report, but tried to share the blame with "social media" and "members of the public" at first:

An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect,  but that report was incorrect. Several other local residents with similar names were also contacted via social media by members of the public who mistook them for the suspect.

Now the correction has been updated, with ABC News and Brian Ross taking full responsibility, and apologizing:

An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect. ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted.

Holmes reached out to Breitbart News to explain that he is not the suspect initially identified by ABC News, nor is he the James Holmes mentioned in a separate article by Breitbart News.
He is a conservative activist who has worked in law enforcement, and who used to work at the county courthouse in Aurora near the theater where the shootings took place.

He described his recent decision to join the Tea Party Patriots:

I felt a general dissatisfaction with what I guess I like to characterize as the establishment Republicans. I had been to Republican conventions to try to get involved, to see who I could join or get aligned with. I wanted to be effective in changing the outcome for my country. I wouldn't say I was stonewalled, nobody answered me in the Republican Party--not a soul would contact me. I even paid to get involved with the Colorado Hispanic Republicans and nothing happened. The only people that would really be open and honest and invite me to participate were the Tea Party Patriots. I had offers to come to this lecture and that lecture, and offers to come to trainings, so it was something that felt like it was politically active.

Photo credit: Colorado Independent