I just got off the phone with Warren McKnight. And no. It wasn't the one call he was allowed to make to his attorney from his jail cell.
Warren is at home, in Riverhead.
He has not been taken into custody by the Secret Service.
He has not been interviewed by the Secret Service.
When I called him he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. Seems he was one of the few people in town who hadn't heard the rumors swirling around today. And through the day, it seemed like everyone who had heard that rumor called RiverheadLocal to report it.
Like all rumors, this one took on a life of its own, growing in proportion as the day wore on.
It started with a caller informing us that Warren had made threats against the president on the WRIV morning show today.
Struck me as preposterous. I mean, Warren is a colorful guy, a little off-beat, with that bushy beard and his banjo-playing. I can't imagine him harming a fly — much less threatening the President of the United States.
But people who called to let us know,though they hadn't heard it with their own ears, had it from "a very reliable source," they assured us. Red flag number one.
The "very reliable source," it turns out, was the same source for all of these folks. Red flag number two.
The "very reliable source," was someone known to me and known to me to be less than "very reliable" as a source. Red flag number three.
I therefore shrugged it off and went about my business.
But when a caller this afternoon said Warren had actually been arrested by the Secret Service, it was too much to take. I had to check it out. So I picked up the phone and called him. Warren, that is — not Barack.
He explained that he said on the air something to the effect that any president who shows leadership puts his neck on the line and endangers his own life.
"You look at history. History bears it out," Warren told me.
Seems someone misconstrued his remarks, he said.
It was either an honest mistake or a purposeful mischaracterization, perhaps purely for entertainment purposes.
Warren was buffaloed about how this rumor could have started. He laughed it off good-naturedly, though. He's a good-natured kind of guy. Warren asked me to be sure and let him know if I hear any rumors of his demise. I promised I would, and asked him to return the favor.
Editor's note: Please read the epilogue to this column. Click here.