The Discovery Channel abruptly entered headlines Wednesday afternoon for an awful reason: a hostage crisis at the network's headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., involving an armed gunman, who the Web quickly identified as James Jay Lee or James Jae Lee, 43, of San Diego (hat tip: The Business Insider). After taking three hostages and negotiating with police for hours, Lee was shot and killed by officers.
In this Feb. 14, 2008, photo, James J. Lee protests in front of the headquarters of the Discovery Channel networks in Silver Spring, Md. Lee, 43, a gunman with what police described as "concerns" with the Discovery Channel networks took at least one person hostage in the company's headquarters Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010. A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing said authorities have identified Lee as the likely suspect.
AP Photo/Chip Py
AP
The Day in Photos
Oil boom barriers that are expected to stop the spread of oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster, lies washed up on the beach after heavy swells and winds hit the coast of Louisiana on April 30, 2010. A giant oil slick threatened economic and environmental devastation as it closed in on Louisiana's vulnerable coast, prompting the US government to declare a national disaster. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency and called for urgent help to prevent fragile wetlands and vital fishing communities along the coast from pollution on a massive scale. The wind started to strengthen and blow the 600-square-mile (1,550-square-kilometer) slick directly onto the coast, where a rich variety of wildlife were at risk in the maze of marshes that amounts to 40 percent of the US wetlands.
Dr. Erica Miller, left, and Danene Birtell with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research work to help a Northern Gannet bird, normally white when full grown, which is covered in oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at a facility in Fort Jackson, La., Friday, April 30, 2010.
Members of the media photograph and film a car that crashed close to location of the launch of an election poster campaign, by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in Birmingham, central England on April 30, 2010. Brown and other senior members of his cabinet were in Birmingham for the launch of their party's final election campaign poster, prior to the May 6 general election.
Fisheries biologist Lyndsey Howell, right, and Shelley Harkness dig a grave in the sand for a dead Kemp's ridley turtle, foreground, Monday, April 26, 2010 in Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. The orange spray paint was put on the shell to identify the turtle. The number of strandings on these shores is double what scientists and volunteers normally see as the turtles begin nesting in April, says Howell, who patrols the beaches as part of her job with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Oil booms that were placed in preparation of the looming oil spill from last week's collapse and spill of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are seen strewn along the shoreline from choppy seas in Port Eads, Thursday, April 29, 2010.
This April 28, 2010 image made from video released by the Deepwater Horizon Response Unified Command, shows an in situ burn in the Gulf of Mexico, in response to the oil spill after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.
Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan celebrates after scoring against Liverpool during their Europa League semifinal second leg soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Thursday April 29, 2010.
Residents of Ottawa's Fallingbrook neighbourhood were unsettled to discover a series of break-ins involving women's undergarments have now been linked to Col. Russell Williams, left, the former air force base commander accused of killing two women. Courtney Cochrane, 29, right, says it's scary that the same person charged in a break-in at her parents house is also charged with two counts of murder.
Here is what's known about Lee so far.
1. He Wrote A Lengthy, Rambling Manifesto
In the document, Lee accused humans of being the "most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around." It was posted at his website, www.savetheplanetprotest.com, which has crashed because of server overload. It can still be accessed via Google Cache.
2. He's Been Arrested Outside Discovery Channel HQ Before
In early 2008, Lee was arrested by Montgomery County Police on charges of littering and disorderly conduct for throwing money to attract a crowd outside the channel's headquarters, DCist reports. The blog also noted that "Lee appears to have spent thousands of dollars in advertising his protest plans in publications such as the Express," a free D.C.-area newspaper, "and hiring homeless people to beef up his presence."
DCist notes that a copy one of Lee's ads is available at The Silver Spring Singular. Here's another online promotion that Lee apparently put up at his own website.
3. He Went to Extraordinary Lengths to Protest the Channel
Elaborating on the DCist's claims that Lee spent significant money to stage bizarre protests in front of the network, the Maryland County Newspapers Online Gazette reported back in 2008 that:
Lee was arrested with about $21,000 in cash in the duffel bag he had with him at the protest, Meng testified. Johnson told Lee that he would get his bag of money back. Lee said he had sold several inherited properties in Maui, Hawaii, where he lived prior to moving to San Diego, to pay for the protest, including about $30,000 for full-page advertisements in newspapers. Lee said he had one property left, worth about $200,000, and had plans to give it away in a ''save the planet contest."
4. He Was Allegedly Influenced by Al Gore's Film, 'An Inconvenient Truth'
Fox News anchor Shep Smith reported this afternoon that Lee experienced an "awakening" after seeing the former vice president's film about global warming.
A philosophical, eco-friendly novel about a talking ape from author Daniel Quinn.
6. He Was Sentenced to a Mental Institution
... For his previous Discovery Channel protest stunts, but never served time, instead being granted probation after 14 days in jail, TMZ reports.
7. He Has a MySpace
Under the username "Worldguardian," where he lists the following personal details:
Relationship status: Single
Here for: Networking, Friends
Orientation: Straight
Hometown: Hawaii
Body type: 5' 11" / Average
Ethnicity: Asian Religion: Atheist
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Children: I don't want kids
Occupation: Research
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/worldguardian#ixzz0yJSfuPfP
...For his "Save The Planet Protest," which includes two different-sized versions of the same video, apparently Lee's pitch for a show that would address some of the problems he had with Discovery Channel's programming. He calls the video an "Experimental video title introduction for a TV Show idea about saving the planet." It is set to the tune of Berry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction."
Copyright: (C) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/termsofuse.html
