Something Was Wrong - S6: (3/3) WCN Presents: [J.E.] S6 Updates

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

*Content warning: gun violence, stalking, emotional, mental, and psychological abuse, violent threats, criminal threats, hate crimes, racism, antisemitism, transphobia, and homophobia.J.E. Reich is a journalist, editor, survivor, and victim advocate. They shared their story on Something Was Wrong season 6, episodes 5 and 6, which aired on December 6th and December 13th of 2020. The episodes discuss the impact of the devastating 2018 shooting at The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the impact the hate crime had on J.E.’s community. The three episodes also bring awareness to the related, horrific stalking J.E. and their family would be subjected to in the years following. However, at the time of the episodes’ release, J.E. and their family had received no justice for the unending harassment and death threats ‘The Caller’ executed over those years. The Broken Cycle Media team is extremely grateful J.E. was willing to return today to share more of their journey to seek justice, and about the start of their consequent healing process.Something Was Wrong Season 6 E5, Massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue | JE:https://wondery.com/shows/something-was-wrong/episode/10716-massacre-at-the-tree-of-life-synagogue-je/Something Was Wrong Season 6 E6, Panic Attack City | JE:https://wondery.com/shows/something-was-wrong/episode/10716-panic-attack-city-je/J.E.'s Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jereichwritesFor more resources and a list of related non-profit organizations, please visit http://somethingwaswrong.com/resources

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What Came Next is intended for mature audiences only. Episodes discuss topics that can be triggering, such as emotional, physical, and sexual violence, animal abuse, suicide, and murder. I am not a therapist, nor am I a doctor. If you're in need of support, please visit Something Was Wrong.com for a list of non-profit organizations that can help. Opinions expressed by my guests on the show are their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of myself or broken cycle media.

Resources and source material are linked in the episode notes. Thank you so much for listening. As shared in part one and part two of their story, J. E. Reich is a journalist, editor, survivor, and victim advocate. They shared their story on Something Was Wrong, Season 6, episodes 5 and 6, which aired on December 6th and December 13th of 2020. The episodes discuss the impact of the devastating 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

and the impact the hate crime had on J.E.'s community. The episodes also bring awareness to the related horrific stalking J.E. and their family would be subjected to in the years following. However, at the time of the episode's release, J.E. and their family had received no justice for the unending harassment and death threats, the caller, executed over those years. The Broken Cycle Media team is extremely grateful

J.E. was willing to return today to share more of their journey to seek justice and about the start of their consequent healing process. After the recess concluded, we filed back into the courtroom. One other thing that happened after we had given our victim impact statements, and I believe before finally sentencing her, the caller was given a chance to give her own statement to the court.

It was short and sweet. It was very clear that she was on some pretty heavy medication. She seemed sort of drowsy, sedated. he would laugh at random moments. It was just unsettling. In her prepared statement, she gave an apology to my mom and my stepdad and called them by name

and did not mention me. The statement was only a few sentences long. It was something like, I apologize to insert name of my stepdad and insert name of my mom here for the harm that I've caused and then maybe one or two more conclusive sentences. despite the fact that she was medicated, it would not have taken more than a few seconds to just

add my name to that. She had heard my name enough times in that courtroom, but she did not acknowledge me once. I don't know if there's much meaning behind that. It would have only helped her case to mention my name, especially after that victim impact statement, which obviously made an impact. I assume that the judge probably picked up on it. Other people in the courtroom noticed it too. Other people commented on it. It wasn't even that she looked small. It was almost that she looked so ordinary because she had loomed so large in my imagination. I kept thinking about the fact that I would likely not see her whole face, which ended up being the case. I was situated in one of the front rows in the courtroom. I was to the right. She was on the left side of the room. I never got

to really see her face. I think the best I got was like a three-quarter profile. She never looked back towards our side of the room. The caller is a woman of color, which adds so many complexities and layers. I know that that sounds like it'd be something divorced from white nationalism or white supremacism, but it actually isn't because that is what white supremacy in this country is designed to do. It is designed to create infighting a moment. amongst minorities and marginalized people so that we essentially off each other and do the dirty work for them. So when something like this happens, that is white supremacy working.

I think in America, we think of oppression and racism, not as something that exists in multitudinously gray zones. There are Jews of color that exists not just by choice, but also by birth. And that's the case worldwide. Being Jewish is religion, but it's more of an ethno-religion and a culture. There are, of course, subcultures within Judaism as a whole. Jews are not monolith. I cannot speak for Jews nationwide. I'm Ashkenazi, which means that my ancestors came from European Jewry. The idea of Jews is white, in the U.S., especially, is a very new concept. considering Jews as white is something post-World War II. And that was also part of a movement where Jews were able to achieve a little bit of like upward mobility or social stratification regarding class was a little bit eased up.

Like during the civil rights movement, Abraham Joshua Heschel was as a Jew, very instrumental in activating the Jewish community because of a Jewish understanding of, what oppression is. As Jews, we need to fight for the rights of others who also live under oppression, especially if we are in a place of privilege at any certain point in history to be able to lift others up. So when I found out that the caller is a black woman, of course, that changed a lot of things for me in terms of how I interacted with my feelings, because I could only imagine the hardships that she had been through, but I also am not trying to take her autonomy away from her

because she made the choices that she made. I think the thing that I grappled with the most is as a Jewish person, but also as a queer person who has experienced homophobia as a trans person who's experienced transphobia. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around how she had no sense of empathy. obviously I can't speak to what it's like to live as a black person in America. But I understand what it's like to walk through the world as a trans person who doesn't really pass. Like I get misgendered all the

time. I do have a sense of what it's like to walk through the world and worry about my safety because of how I look. Transphobia is on the rise in terms of our laws, in terms of banning life-saving medical care for trans people, all of it. And it's still hard for me to reconcile those things. I remember talking with you. I was definitely overcome by the level of empathy that you had for the collar and the level of thought you put into that. I don't even think of it as empathy. I just think if it is just being a person. It doesn't change the anger. I don't hate her, but I can't forgive her. I'll never forgive her because she stalked me. And it took me a really long time to be able to understand that. Part of the process includes the judge laying out

their thought process, which creates, in a weird way, very great narrative tension, because you really are on tenterhooks waiting to see what the actual conclusion is. What I really admire about the judge was that he was very clear that he had listened very closely to my victim impact statement. he stated that it was only after he had heard my statement that he realized how thoroughly thought out and methodical the caller had been. She had already known my name when she made the first call to Tree of Life. She left a voicemail on my stepdad's old answering machine in his old office before then immediately calling my stepdad's phone number, which pointed to that there was a premeditation to it all. It was something that she had thoroughly researched. She knew exactly how she could not only frighten us, but frighten us to the utmost extent.

And the judge laid that out before he sentenced her. In a way, I felt that I had done what I needed to do to protect the safety of my mom and my stepdad and protect myself. But in a way, it almost felt like why had it taken this long for somebody to finally believe and like stayed out loud something that was so thoroughly clear from the very beginning. The judge well, he issued the sentence. He also took into account the undercurrent of homophobia and transphobia that were evident in the many, many, many calls that she made in the many, many, many threats against me, which nobody really had.

That was incredibly impactful, especially in a Florida courtroom. I think of it as being human, taking into consideration the many, many factors of this case, especially because the caller is a woman of color, which adds so many complexities and layers. It's not as clear cut as a white supremacist

targeting a Jewish family. He took her mental health into account and showed compassion for her. Everybody deserves health care in this country. So it is a travesty that she didn't get that. And I was glad that he said that too. It was reflective of what me and my mother and my stepfather as victims believe. I remember sitting there and thinking,

is he actually going to rule in favor of the defense? Is he going to give her a lesser sentence? The one that they had proposed was 12 months with time served. which would have meant that she could have been out within a month or two if they factored in good behavior. Because she had already served, I think, around eight, maybe nine months. After that March hearing. Yeah, she could have been out pretty quickly.

The judge delivered his sentence. In the end, she was given 32 months with time served. So that's a few years. with three years of supervised release, meaning that after she's released, if she tries to contact us, she'll be arrested and imprisoned. It's like a violation of parole.

After the hearing was over, the FBI liaison, who again was my main point of contact, took my partner and I aside and said that she wanted to introduce us to some people. Those people were the team that were the movers and shakers of the investigation, they were so happy to see me and excited to meet me. They said lovely, wonderful things. What really struck me was that it was a pretty diverse team in terms of race,

in terms of gender, country of origin. I think that also really contributed to the sense of empathy that I felt from when the case was finally picked up by the FBI. I think it's really, really important that law enforcement on every level is comprised of people that come from different backgrounds that have different perspectives and different approaches when it comes to especially hate crimes, a huge obstruction and a frustrating one on so many levels, is that in the beginning, part of the reason why it was clear to me that local law enforcement didn't take it seriously is that their offices were incredibly homogenous. They were not well-versed in anti-Semitism,

in homophobia, in trans identities. It was traumatic enough to explain what was happening, what had happened, but it was also incredibly demoralizing and demeaning to try to have to make my case over and over again, to have to explain why something like, this was anti-Semitic. If you're a part of a marginalized community, I think there is a deep understanding that you walk through the world and already know that people are not going to take

you at face value. I think part of the reason why this team did is because they had a deep understanding of that. And it's something that I'm incredibly grateful for. There has to be some sort of baseline education for people that do enter law enforcement when it comes to hate crimes or when it comes to providing service to people that are a part of marginalized communities. I think fostering a sense of understanding and empathy needs to happen. There has to be something in place to help people truly understand what goes into protecting any community. if there were more people in law enforcement, like the people that were comprised of the investigative team,

I think the world would be a better place. And I think that maybe justice would feel more just. After the sentencing hearing where I gave my victim impact statement, I actually went to the ER. Before the sentencing hearing, while we traveled down to Florida for it, I experienced edema in both legs, which can be a sign of heart failure. As soon as I got back from my, Miami, I went to the hospital within 24 hours of me landing. They thought I was experiencing heart failure. It was really bad. I was in the hospital for three days or so.

Having to deal with what was happening to my body that required immediate attention, it didn't take my mind off of what had happened, but I had to go back into survival mode. It definitely delayed being able to process what I had gone through. We're not sure exactly what caused that symptom or what caused my ill health. Parts of my hair went gray. For those three months, I pretty much thought I was dying. I was cognizant that stress was affecting me, but I don't think I really understood how deeply it did until a month or so out of it.

And this came back to the idea that everything had been my fault. Because if I hadn't written this essay, at the time, I thought that it was a way that I could heal, even as everything was happening. But maybe I could give comfort to other people in my community. Even if they were once removed or something like that, they could also feel like they weren't alone. It's funny because I ended up feeling completely alone. I wasn't happy. Nobody was happy. I didn't feel happy that somebody was going to prison. I didn't feel happy that I was there. I didn't feel happy that I had to go through this in the first place. You can't erase the past. So it's just something that you have to live with. I think of her now. I'm not happy that she's in prison. I'm not happy that somebody has that kind of hatred. I'm not happy. I'm not happy. I'm not. happy that she's representative of a pretty large demographic that just hates Jews because they hate Jews. And even my sense of security is still temporary. After the three-year supervised release

is up, who knows what she's going to do? Who knows if she does it to somebody else? I hope that's not the case. I can't say whether she feels remorse. I'm not under the impression that she does. in the courtroom that day I wasn't under the impression that anything in her statement really rang true. Maybe she'll grow and change. You shouldn't have to be in prison to grow and change. Our prison industrial complex isn't about rehabilitation or reparative care. It's punitive. She was sentenced to a federal correctional facility in California.

It was important to me that she was not imprisoned. in a facility that wasn't in her home state and wasn't somewhere close to her family. They can visit her if they want to. The idea that she would be imprisoned in a place that would make it impossible for her family and close loved ones to visit seemed unbelievably cruel. Obviously, there's an extradition process. I'm not sure if she's been extradited to California yet. I think that she probably has. I'd have to look it up, which would be relatively easy,

but it's difficult for me to do that for obvious reasons. I do get notifications for certain things. Within a month or two, after the sentencing hearing, we received a notification about the restitution hearing in case I wanted to pursue that, which I did decide not to. It would mean essentially me getting $5 a month

after she was released for prison. And I was like, I really don't need that. Any sort of monetary amount isn't really going to change anything for me. And I didn't want to be in any way, shape or form linked to her following her sentence. I think her attorney filed an appeal, which is pretty standard.

From what I last heard, it seems they just decided not to follow through. That might change, but if it does, I'll hear about it. After the sentencing hearing, there were a number of stories that were published concerning it. Some national slash international publications. What was very frustrating was the lack of follow-through from those journalists who got things just wrong. It's obvious that they're just going on press releases. There was an article published that was basically a regurgitation of maybe one or two press releases from the D.I.

or from the Southern District of Florida. I have reached out to a number of those publications because I'm usually erased from the narrative completely. It's not like I want media attention per se, but I don't want to be erased completely. I'm also speaking as somebody who is a part of the media. I understand you're a freelancer and your beat is true crime. Part of that sometimes is regurgitating press releases.

But what's unconscionable to me is if somebody who is a part of that story reaches out to you directly and asks for you to make a correction and get the facts straight. Or maybe just to give somebody a voice, somebody who's deserving of being heard, somebody who went through this to just ignore that, that's unethical to me. And that's happened. Like I have reached out and I said, you got this wrong? They didn't make a correction. I reached out to the reporter for that story. I had to verify that I wasn't some rando. But the lack of follow through is what really bothers me

because part of the responsibility as a journalist is to report ethically and get the facts straight. One of the articles, they said that my stepdad went on the record that he didn't want to talk about it. My stepdad didn't get a call. That was completely made up. Part of the reason why I wanted to do this follow-up is because I think it's important to

accept the record straight and to be able to tell my story because it can have an impact in some way, shape, or form. Trans Jews exist. This kind of shit happens to us. That is completely tied to my transness and my queerness. I don't want details about her fantasizing about sexually. assaulting me to necessarily be on record, but I also don't want my story to be erased. If I had to go through this, what happened to me and how I dealt with it matters.

It's emblematic of horrible, bigoted attitudes from a contingent of this country and how they inflict pain and suffering and fear in other people for simply existing. So if I had to go through this, at least I want to make it matter. I don't want to be erased. And I don't want other people who go through anything similar to this to be erased either. I want them to be able to know that it's possible to survive and it's possible to be heard. And I want other people to understand what we go through and to hear our stories. Because maybe in the end, that can build a sense of empathy or a sense of compassion. Maybe it can one day build bridges and create a larger community of just people being people and people understanding people. I don't believe in closure. Closure isn't the thing I'm ever

going to find. It's more of like a way to carry this with me in a way that is safe for me and my mental health and my physical health. I'm trying to find my way not necessarily back to who I was before this began, but try to coalesce and try to piece together the person who I am now and the person who I was before this happened. I kind of mourn the person that I could have been if this hadn't happened to me. On the whole, I have a good life. I have a partner who is so supportive and who I love. We have three cats and a dog together that we love. We live in Boston. We live in a beautiful apartment. Now, I feel so much healthier. I feel better. I can do things like walk without feeling like I can't breathe. I have a sense of security that I didn't have before,

at least temporarily. I'm happy with my life. But God, the pain and the anguish that I had to deal to get here, I'm finally starting to work on my book again. It took that away from me because I felt like I didn't have a voice anymore for a really long time. I take it day by day. I try not to think about a bigger picture. I try to find happiness in small moments. I try to not beat myself down for somehow not being automatically healed and not magically undergoing an immediate restoration to the person I was before. It's those little triumphs, like sitting in my study and finally writing a whole paragraph or a whole page for a short story I'm writing or my memoir that I'm working on, which of course in its own way is me being able to finally definitively tell my story,

which also takes time in patience for writing a sentence and not thinking it's awful and becoming angry again at the years that this person took away from me because she sapped me of so much of myself that I couldn't write a sentence for myself. It's a hard process, but you take those little moments and they start to become building blocks and you can see that foundation taking form. I finally have a foundation again. It's not a perfect process, but what's perfect anyway? I just want to say thank you so, so much. Your resilience is always an inspiration to me. I appreciate so much your willingness to speak out from all of your intersections.

And you make so many people feel seen and heard through your sharing. And it is extremely beneficial to our community. I can't thank you enough. Tiffany said it perfectly. I just echo what she said. Thank you again. and you really are an incredibly empathetic, powerful human. You've been through hell,

and I really appreciate you being willing to share some of that with the audience for awareness and for prevention and for healing. I know it's going to help people to hear. That's all I can hope for. Thank you guys for giving me a platform to be able to speak about this so candidly and to help people be heard. You're truly making a difference in the world. It's Tekoon alum. It's repairing the world.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Next week on what came next. Theaters are so different now, but it was seven or eight seats deep on the other side, and you walked up a carpet strip that had tivoli lights. I remember hearing the first couple pops and didn't connect because my experience with gunfire was outdoors. When you're in that acoustic environment, it muffles the sound. All of this stuff happens.

and a nanosecond. And I remember hearing a woman go, oh my God, he's shooting. And then I connected the sound with the heat on the side of my face. I don't know how many shots he fired. But we all sort of bolting for the door. And this is one of those things

that really bothers me, that I didn't tackle him, that I didn't stay and protect. What came next is a Broken Cycle Media production co-produced by Amy B. Chessler and Tiffany Reese. If you'd like to help support what came next, you can leave us a positive review, support our sponsors, or follow Broken Cycle Media on Instagram at Broken Cycle Media. Check out the episode notes for sources, resources, and to follow our guests.

Thank you again for listening.