DEVELOPING STORY
Journalist Gunnar Espen Rotte, who gained notoriety in December when he published a controversial editorial in the Rodent Commoner, claims that he was assaulted this morning when he was shopping at a bakery outside The Park.
Rotte, whose opinion piece was entitled, “Why I Don’t Bleed for my Striped Brothers,” has been the target of threats since early December. He spent two weeks in hiding and was the recipient of personal security from Park Police until January 1.
Rotte told The Mammalian Daily in a call from his burrow that that he had gone on a “usual” excursion outside The Park to buy some pastries for a small gathering he is hosting tonight.
“As soon as I walked into the place, I could feel the tension,” Rotte said.
The bakery was filled with customers, most of them Humans, and Rotte said he just wanted to place his order and leave.
“But before I knew it, they’d mobilized. One got a broom; another got a spray can. I went behind the counter, picked up two pies, threw my money at the server and ran,” he said. “I didn’t even wait for the change.”
Rotte was visibly shaken when he returned to The Park, his friends say.
“He ran into his burrow and stayed there for about an hour. Then he called us to say he was all right.”
