Cop Says Shawn Johnson Stalker Sounded Crazy, but Aren’t We All Still a Little Shawn Johnson Crazy?

Photo used under Creative Commons license by flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26388705@N05/3366517559/in/set-72157614006286693/">ShawnJohnson.net</a>

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Robert O’Ryan, 34, is a little obsessed with Shawn Johnson, the 17-year-old Olympic gymnast from West Des Moines, Iowa. Last week the Florida man was arrested for trying to jump a fence outside Dancing With the Stars and carrying a loaded shotgun in his car. Before he arrived in sunny California, though, he was pulled over in Alabama. The cruiser-cam caught O’Ryan telling the officer he had spoken with Johnson and “I know it sounds a little crazy, but my intuition tells me we’re going to have a beautiful relationship.”

Nearly a year after the Beijing Olympics, the Des Moines Register still feeds readers the latest Shawn Johnson updates through a Shawn Johnson mini Web portal. Johnson devotees can enter their location on an international fan map, download Shawn desktop wallpaper, and go outside the lines in a Shawn coloring book. On Shawn’s personal website, her book, Shawn Johnson: Olympic Champion: Stories Behind the Smile, is now on sale, as is the Peace, Love Shawn Johnson Collection by Adidas. The Shawn Johnson line of jewelery features pendants and diamond necklaces with an Olympic twist. Her face appeared on a box of Cheerios, and she competes, with some success, against the likes of Belinda Carlisle and Lil’ Kim on DWTS. Let’s cut this stalker some slack! O’Ryan is not alone in his obsession. Though he is probably the best armed.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate