Randi Rhodes attacked

UPDATED

I wondered why Lionel was filling in for Randi on AAR last night.

The blog Talking Radio says it's because Randi was the victim of a violent attack while walking her dog.

According to Air America Radio late night host Jon Elliott, Rhodes was beaten up pretty badly, losing several teeth and will probably be off the air for at least the rest of the week. At of late Monday night we have not able to locate any press accounts of the attack and nothing has been posted on the AAR website.

[...]

Elliott was extremely agitated when he reported on the incident. He opened his show by saying "it is with sadness that tonight I inform you that my Air America colleague Randi Rhodes was assaulted last night while walking her dog near her New York City home."

Pointing out that Rhodes was wearing a jogging suit and displayed no purse or jewelry, Elliott speculated that "this does not appear to me to be a standard grab the money and run mugging."

Talking Radio goes on to speculate that Randi was assaulted by right-wingers who might be resentful over AAR's incursion into the talk radio landscape. Absent any evidence, I am unwilling to join in that conversation.

Suffice it to say that I hope Randi recovers quickly, and that she doesn't suffer any lasting physical or emotional damage.

Sam Seder will reportedly fill in for Randi on Tuesday and Wednesday.

(AAR, may I suggest Marc Maron for Thursday and Friday? He did such a great job filling in for Rachel last week)

UPDATE

Apparently, Randi was not attacked.

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today.

Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.

"Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?" he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. "Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?"

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan's 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

Rhodes' lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she's not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a "hate crime."