On September 18, the website of right-wing radio host Michael Savage linked to an article reporting on a University of Florida student who was shocked with a Taser and removed by several campus police officers -- at least one of whom was female -- from a September 17 forum featuring Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). Savage linked to the article with the headline: “BULL-DYKE FASCIST TASERS STUDENT WHO ASKS KERRY TOO MANY QUESTIONS.” The actual article, which was titled “Student Shot by Taser Gun” and appeared on the website of a Baltimore TV station, did not state that a female officer was the one who tasered the student and did not mention any details about the officers who arrested him.

From Savage's website:

Following the incident, Kerry released the following statement:

In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody. I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building. I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted.

As Media Matters for America has documented, Savage frequently makes homophobic remarks on his program. On the March 20 edition of his show, Savage called a transgender murder victim a “psychopath” and a “freak.” Days later, on the March 23 edition of his show, Savage blamed sexual reassignment surgery for the Columbine massacre. Savage has also repeatedly called gay parenting “child abuse.”