Brandi Kruse
Politics • Culture • News
[un]Divided Newsletter: March 5, 2023
March 05, 2023
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Catch up on what you may have missed from [un]Divided this week.

Midnight madness

Late into the night on Friday, the Washington State Senate finally passed a bill that would make possession of illegal drugs a gross misdemeanor. The bill now goes to the House.

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Senate Bill 5536 is a fix for the State Supreme Court’s Blake decision, which nullified the felony drug possession statute. While a temporary fix was put into place after Blake, it is set to expire on July 1 on this year – meaning a permanent fix must be signed into law this session, or possessing drugs like heroin, meth, and cocaine will no longer be a crime in Washington.

If it passes the House and is signed into law by the governor, SB 5536 would make it a gross misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly possess an illegal substance. Prior to jail booking or referring the case to prosecutors, law enforcement is encouraged to offer suspects treatment options. When cases are referred to them, prosecutors would also be encouraged to divert defendants toward treatment. Should cases ultimately wind up in court, the court must advise defendants of the option to participate in pre-trial diversion. Offenders can ultimately have their records expunged after successfully completing treatment.

The bill reads:

The legislature finds that substance use disorders are a public health issue. Solutions must address not only the criminal legal response, but be data-driven, evidence-based, and represent best practices, working directly with people who use drugs to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmission, and improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of those served. The state must follow principles of harm reduction, which means practical strategies aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction involves safer use of supplies as well as care settings, staffing, and interactions that are person-centered, supportive, and welcoming.

Although it is one of the softer solutions to Blake, chaos broke out within the Democratic caucus on Friday night when it became clear that some Progressive members thought SB 5536 went too far in criminalizing substance abuse and were not inclined to compromise.

One senator told me Democrats retreated into their caucus room for more than two hours as infighting played out. Senator Manka Dhingra, the chair of the Law & Justice committee (who has also played a role in thwarting meaningful progress on the state’s police pursuit policy) was among those pushing back against the bill, arguing that substance abuse should not be a criminal matter.

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Eventually, Democrats emerged, and the bill was passed on a bipartisan basis, 28-21, with a majority of the Democratic caucus voting against it – including some members who co-sponsored the original bill.

The following Democratic senators voted against the proposal:

  • Senator Manka Dhingra
  • Senator Joe Nguyen
  • Senator Rebecca Saldana
  • Senator Claire Wilson
  • Senator Patty Kuderer
  • Senator Noel Frame
  • Senator Bob Hasegawa
  • Senator Lisa Wellman
  • Senator T’wina Nobles
  • Senator Jamie Pedersen
  • Senator Claudia Kauffman
  • Senator Derek Stanford
  • Senator Yasmin Trudeau
  • Senator Javier Valdez
  • Senator Liz Lovelett

Several Republican members also voted against the bill for various reasons. Some believe drug possession should remain a felony, others took issue with a section of the bill that has to do with prohibitions on firearm possession for individuals who have a diagnosed substance abuse disorder. The following Republican senators voted against SB 5536:

  • Senator Mike Padden
  • Senator Ann Rivers
  • Senator Mark Schoesler
  • Senator Shelly Short
  • Senator Jim McCune
  • Senator Judy Warnick

The bill will now head to the House where it could undergo changes. Let's hope they don't water it down further. The drug crisis on our streets cannot be solved without some sort of law enforcement component to help incentivize treatment. 

Two kids dead in preventable crash

On Friday’s show, we discussed the tragic deaths of two children – 6 and 8 – who were killed by a drunk driver in a head-on collision near Sunnyside, Washington.

The Washington State Patrol says troopers spotted the 20-year-old suspect driving 111 mph down Interstate 90 about an hour before the deadly crash but could not pursue him because of the state’s restrictive law around police chases.

The deaths underscore the remarkable irresponsibly of Democratic leaders in Olympia, who have so far refused to make meaningful changes to the law they championed in 2021. Not only that, but some continue to peddle debunked data to gaslight the public into believing the law is saving innocent lives.

In January, Senator Manka Dhingra said those critical of the law were simply letting emotions get the best of them. I would challenge her to say that to the family of those two children.

In addition to the two deaths, a 5-year-old passenger and the 23-year-old driver of the victim vehicle, who was related to the children, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

If you watch one thing from unDivided this week ...

… make it my interview with Crosscut political reporter Joseph O’Sullivan. On the Wednesday show, we discussed the 15-year effort of state lawmakers to hide records from the people they serve.

Even after a 2018 Washington State Supreme Court decision found that lawmakers are not, in fact, exempt from producing records as part of the Public Records Act, Democrats in Olympia have started claiming “legislative privilege” as a way around the high-court ruling. When the practice was spotlighted at the end of 2022, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate failed to provide a plausible defense of it. 

Conveniently, they now deflect questions on the issue by pointing to pending litigation. One wonders why they are so eager to hide things from the people who put them in office.

Housekeeping

None!

Have a great week and thank you for your commitment to giving 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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