Our deepest condolences to our friend Carl Hiaasen and his family. With great sympathy, the First Amendment Foundation staff.
PalmBeachPost by The Associated Press
June 2, 2018
Days after journalist Rob Hiaasen and four colleagues were shot to death by a gunman who blasted his way into the Capital Gazette’s newsroom, an overflow crowd gathered on Monday evening to remember the man they loved in stories, poems, and songs.
Attendees at the “celebration of life” held at a Maryland nature center said they would remember Hiaasen for how he lived, rather than the way he died senselessly at the hands of a gunman twisted by hate and festering rage. They sought solace with laughter and funny memories, but sobs occasionally punctuated the ceremony.
“I want to just remember what a wonderful person Rob was and what a great, wonderful, selfless life he led,” said Kevin Cowherd, one of several speakers who addressed the crowd of roughly 500 people assembled beneath a large white tent.
Cowherd, an author who worked with Hiaasen for years at The Baltimore Sun, described him as an open, fun-loving man who found humor in everything. As a writer, Hiaasen was versatile and drawn to the quirky, he said. As a colleague, he was kind and encouraging.
Hannah Hiaasen, his youngest daughter, said the family called him “Big Rob” — a nickname that perfectly fit the assistant managing editor who stood 6-foot-5. But it wasn’t just his height that made the nickname ring true to those who knew him best.
“He had a really, really big heart,” she said, before reading a poem in her dad’s honor.
Meanwhile, Maryland police investigating America’s latest mass murder said Monday that Jarrod Ramos, the man charged with the slayings, sent three threatening letters on the day of the attack. Sgt. Jacklyn Davis, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County police, said the letters were received Monday.
Ramos, 38, has a well-documented history of harassing the paper’s journalists. He filed a defamation suit in 2012 that was thrown out as groundless and often railed against them in profanity-laced tweets. Ramos was arrested by police after the attack Thursday. He is in custody and faces five counts of first-degree murder.