As reported by several sources, a gunman has taken several people hostage in the lobby of the Discovery Channel’s Maryland headquarters, resulting in an ongoing standoff with local authorities. There have been unconfirmed reports of gunshots, and it’s rumored—though also not confirmed—that the gunman is also strapped with an explosive device. Police say they have secured the building and so far no injuries have been reported.
Within the last hour, the man has been identified as 43-year-old James Jay Lee, who has a history of protesting the network, leading to an arrest and conviction for disorderly conduct in 2008, which stemmed from a demonstration that ended with Lee throwing “thousands of dollars of cash into the air.” Lee, who reportedly experienced an awakening after watching An Inconvenient Truth, is also behind this website, which blames humans for ruining the planet and demands that the Discovery Channel develop some new shows to address his concerns. Although the site is currently unavailable (due, no doubt, to the crush of traffic), MSNBC published the following quote from Lee’s manifesto: