Brandi Kruse
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[un]Divided Newsletter: October 30, 2022
October 30, 2022
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Take a minute to [un]wind with our Sunday morning newsletter. Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what you may have missed from [un]Divided this week.

Senate race moves to ‘toss up’

Since the moment Republican Tiffany Smiley entered the race for U.S. Senate in Washington state, I’ve opined that her chances of beating 30-year incumbent Patty Murray are slim.

Will I have to eat crow?

This morning, the Smiley camp is celebrating after Real Clear Politics (RCP) switched the race from “Leans D” to “Toss Up.”

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“It’s a great day to be team Smiley,” her communications director, Elisa Carlson, wrote on Twitter.

The change means seven U.S. Senate races are now considered statistical ties. In addition to Washington, those are: Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.

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The shift in Washington reflects Smiley’s slow and steady climb in polling since she entered the race last year. The latest poll, which tipped the scales for RCP, comes from the Trafalgar Group.

While Trafalgar is considered partisan (R), FiveThirtyEight gives it a high rating for accurate polling.

The poll, taken days after Smiley and Murray met in a televised town hall debate, puts the race within the margin of error – with Smiley at 48.2% and Murray at 49.4%.

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The poll surveyed 1,207 likely Washington voters, with 44.2% identifying as Democrats and 33.4% identifying as Republicans.

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In case you are still an undecided voter, take a few minutes to watch my sit-down interview with Tiffany Smiley and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, who was in the state this week as a campaign surrogate. We discuss issues that matter to swing voters, such as abortion and the economy.

LIVE October Q&A

Speaking of the election, our October subscriber Q&A will be held TONIGHT at 8pm PT. Set a reminder and bring your best questions! I won't tell you who to vote for, but I'm happy to discuss the implications of each race. 

Local races to watch

While discussion focuses on control of Congress, I’ve been asked to share some thoughts on local races as well. We tend to shy away from hyper-local races on the podcast since some listeners don’t live in Washington state.

But if you do, here are just a few legislative races I have my eyes on:

26th District Senate race: This race has become one of the most expensive in the state - with candidates raising a combined $1.4 million. Incumbent Senator Emily Randall (D) is running against Republican challenger Jesse Young, a current state representative. The 26th District serves the Bremerton area and is seen as a race that could help flip control of the state senate to the GOP.

While Randall has tried to tone down her views to appeal to moderate voters, she has struggled to defend her support of controversial police reform laws in Olympia - like the bill limiting police pursuits. Young has said he would seek to repeal that law.

Young has been painted by opponents as an extremist who stood behind State Rep. Matt Shea after he was ousted from his own caucus. An independent investigation accused Shea of engaging in acts of domestic terrorism. 

42nd District Senate race: This is the seat left open by the late Senator Doug Ericksen, who passed last year. 

Simon Sefzik was appointed to fill the vacancy, becoming the youngest state senator in Washington's history (he was born in 1999, let that sink in!)

Running to replace him is Democrat Sharon Shewmake, who already serves in the State House of Representatives. 

The 42nd District serves Whatcom County.

31st District Senate race: Senator Phil Fortunato is the last remaining Republican serving in a King County legislative district - will a former Republican take that distinction away from him?

Chris Vance, the onetime state GOP chair who left the party over his distaste for Donald Trump, is running as an independent to unseat Fortunato. 

The 31st District represents the Auburn area. 

Now, it’s impossible to say whether Republicans in Washington state can retake the state house or senate. There simply isn’t reliable data at the local level. Republicans would need nine seats in the House and four seats in the Senate to gain control.

 

 

Fake Tweeps fool media

Friday on the podcast we discussed Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and the unhinged reaction to it.

Enter Rahul Ligma and Daniel Johnson (get it, Ligma-Johnson?)

The men stood outside Twitter headquarters this week holding carboard boxes, posing as fired Twitter data engineers. Boy did the media eat it up. 

CNBC Tech Reporter Deirdre Bosa breathlessly reported on the unfortune of the two men, even sharing that one owned a Telsa and now won't be able to make payments! 

"They are visibly shaken," she wrote.

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Despite the internet quickly identifying the duo as hoaxsters, Deirdre has left up her original tweets, following them with a meek quasi-correction and restricting replies to her account. 

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Now, in case you're inclined to give these reporters the benefit of the doubt, allow me to detail the red flags that even a blind person could have spotted. 

First - Ligma held up a copy of Michelle Obama's autobiography, shouting "Michelle Obama wouldn't have happened if Elon Musk owned Twitter!"

Classic. 

But it was Johnson who really gave away the game. During an interview, he said Musk's version of free speech was "Nazis saying that trans women shouldn't use women's locker rooms."

Then, this: 

"I gotta touch base with my husband and my wife, I gotta get out of here," he said. "Thank you."

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Hold the Line

I joined Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Mike Solan on his Hold the Line Podcast this week. I really enjoyed the conversation and if you want to hear my thoughts on just about everything happening in Seattle right now, you can watch here.  

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Housekeeping

One last reminder about tonight’s LIVE Q&A. It will be the last one before Election Day!

Have a greet week and thank you for your commitment to give common sense a comeback!

 

 

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EXCLUSIVE: When being a social media troll comes back to bite you – hard
If you simply can’t help but poke the hornet’s nest, at least make sure your own hive is in order first.
 

 

 

This story has it all. Politics. Conservative infighting. Social media trolls. Lawsuits. A fugitive from justice. Charges of sodomy. And a side of karma, served cold.

Let’s start with the basics.

On March 26, a 24-year-old named Tyler James Crowl was arrested at his dad’s house in Lakewood, Washington, for a warrant out of Oregon. The arrest didn’t make the news in Washington, which isn’t a surprise considering the alleged crimes weren’t perpetrated in our state.

Crowl was wanted out of Yamhill County, Oregon, on three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and three counts of Sodomy in the First Degree. Both crimes are felonies. According to court records from September 2024, prosecutors allege Crowl “unlawfully and knowingly engaged in oral sexual intercourse with a child under 12 years of age” on multiple occasions and “did unlawfully and knowingly subject a child under 14 years of age to sexual contact by touching her vaginal area and/or upper/inner thighs” on multiple occasions.

While Tyler Crowl would have been a teenager himself at the time of the alleged crimes, Oregon state law says minors under 12 years old cannot consent to oral sex. And minors under the age of 14 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.

The details of Tyler Crowl’s alleged crimes are disturbing. But the way he came to be arrested in Lakewood is the stuff movie scripts are made of.

For those who frequent the bowels of political social media in Washington state, the last name Crowl might look familiar. Eric Crowl, known by the X handle @OutragePNW, is a well-known social media troll in conservative circles. His schtick is attacking Republicans who he deems not conservative enough. In full disclosure, I’ve been a favorite target of his for my reporting on former gubernational candidate Semi Bird. Bird, a Republican, was accused of stolen valor, on top of other documented criminal cases from his past. I found the accusations credible and important enough to discuss on my show.

OutragePNW didn’t like that one bit.

His online posts became so unhinged, not to mention defamatory, I informed my local police department that I was worried for my safety. We had officers at our home a couple times to check in.

1.png?token-time=1744848000&token-hash=08A8qzwyNh1P_xGdASRiY-hEB_Fkn0epz6V44aQtwaU%3DWhile I’ve had my share of social media trolls rile their followers up into a rabid mob, Eric Crowl presented a different kind of security concern – one worth taking seriously.

In 2016, Eric Crowl, then 39-years-old, was arrested in Portland with a cache of weapons including a rifle, shotgun, camouflage, police scanner, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Police there had been investigating Crowl for months, after they “noticed him videotaping police outside the bureau's east precinct, often showing up during shift changes and leaving after hearing his name over the police scanner he carried,” according to Portland station KGW.

Crowl was arrested and charged with attempted assault of an officer and unlawful use of a weapon. 

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While out on house arrest, he was accused of violating the conditions of his release by allegedly showing up – with his wife and son in tow – to the home of a federal inspector.

“Crowl and his family were described as ‘aggressively’ staring into the inspector’s open garage and duty vehicle,” according to Portland station KOIN. The federal employee said Crowl was wearing shorts and did not have his court-mandated GPS monitor on.

“The inspector believed the Crowl’s were acting suspiciously and/or conducting surveillance on his home,” according to court documents.

Crowl was rearrested and had his bail set at $1 million. In November 2016, he agreed to a deal with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of unlawful possession of a firearm in exchange for three years of probation, KOIN reported.

So, what’s the link between Eric Crowl (@OutragePNW) and alleged sodomizer turned fugitive Tyler James Crowl?

Tyler is Eric’s son.

Usually, the misdeeds of family members of social media figures wouldn’t be something I’d jump to report on (regardless of how I felt about that particular person).

But in this case, it was Crowl’s obsession with trolling his perceived political enemies that led to his son’s capture. And that’s a tale too interesting not to tell.

On March 4, Eric Crowl registered a nonprofit with the state of Washington named the Pierce County Republican Party. He immediately started a Facebook page using the name and even held live virtual events on X titled “Pierce County Republican Pary – Media Availability.”

If that sounds weird to you, it is.

There is, of course, already a Pierce County Republican Party. It’s the Pierce County branch of the State GOP and has been active in local politics since at least the 1960’s.

So why would Eric Crowl want to troll his local GOP?

The Pierce County Republican Party and its chairman, Dave McMullan, have been favorite targets of Crowl’s social media attacks. McMullan was an early and unapologetic supporter of Republican Gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert, earning him the ire of the party’s right flank – and of diehard Semi Bird supporters like Crowl. Furthermore, the county party voted unanimously to ban Crowl from its biennial organizational meeting back in November – in part because of his conduct online.

What better way to make sure you're included than to register an imposter Pierce County Republican Party and put yourself in charge of it?

In response to Crowl’s filing, the legitimate Pierce County Republican Party made a filing of its own – in United States District Court.

On March 23, the PCRP filed a lawsuit against Crowl and his new nonprofit, accusing him of violating the Federal Trademark Act.

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The only thing left was to serve Eric Crowl with the papers at his home in Lakewood.

That job fell to Robert Parker, a local Republican who offered to help.

In advance of doing so, Parker told unDivided he thought it would be wise to see who else was living at the home. He knew of Crowl’s criminal history in Oregon and wanted to be prepared for what he might encounter.

A search of public records from the address showed a Tyler James Crowl was registered to vote there. Parker went into amateur detective mode. He put Tyler Crowl’s name into Google. Up popped a January 6, 2025, blog post from a small news outlet in Oregon. It was a list of outstanding warrants.

“Area law enforcement agencies are looking for the following people who have absconded from the law.”

On the list was “Tyler James Crowl, 23, wanted on warrants for first-degree sodomy and sexual abuse.”

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Unsure whether Tyler would be at his dad’s house, but armed with the information anyway, Parker went to serve the papers.

Sure enough, Tyler Crowl was the one to come to the door. Parker caught the whole thing on camera.

“Mr. Crowl?”

“That should be my father, but yeah, what’s this regarding?”

“That’s for him,” Parker said, handing over the notice of service in a manilla envelope.

“Ok … what’s it regarding if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s legal paperwork for him.”

A woman can be heard in the background saying “Tyler, don’t accept that.”

Parker leaves the documents with Tyler and walks away – only to promptly contact the Lakewood Police Department to inform them of the whereabouts of a fugitive from justice.

Within hours, Tyler Crowl was in custody and being held at the Pierce County Jail, where he is still awaiting extradition to Yamhill County, Oregon.

It is unclear whether the elder Crowl knew his son was a fugitive from justice. unDivided has reached out to prosecutors in Oregon to inquire whether they are investigating whether Eric Crowl knowingly concealed his son’s whereabouts.

A text message and email to Eric Crowl seeking comment went unanswered Tuesday. Crowl protected his X account (@OutragePNW) shortly after unDivided reached out for comment about his son’s arrest, limiting his posts to approved followers.

So, what lessons can be taken from this sordid tale?

For starters, don’t engage in sex acts with a pre-teen. That’s good advice for anyone.

Second, don’t be a social media troll. Also good advice for anyone. But if you simply can’t help but poke the hornet’s nest, at least make sure your own hive is in order first.

 

 

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