Jericho Supporters Gather In Springfield To Protest Firing and "Censorship"

Supporters of former KSGF radio personality Vincent David Jericho convened for a "support Vince rally/party" in Springfield yesterday to stand, pay tribute and raise a little money for Jericho.  

Jericho has not publicly explained why he was fired from the radio station, but former KY3 reporter Dave Catanese stated in late December that his sources believed the dismissal "definitely had to do with his constant barrage of attacks on Congressman Roy Blunt and Mavis Busiek." 

Last week, Jericho stirred the pot again by asking his Facebook followers, "Did Blunt gun me?"

The News-Leader's Chad Livengood was at Sunday's gathering. From his report:

At the event, Jericho remained mostly mum about why he is no longer on the air. But he did have one message for his critics: "I'm not afraid of the truth." [...]

Long-time listeners and close friends of Jericho spoke at the event about how he motivated them to get involved with local government and politics.

"Vince has been a catalyst in this community," said Matt Canovi, who hosts a show about guns on KSGF each Saturday morning. "He got me off the couch and back to work toward winning America back for Americans." [...]

Jericho has had a devout following of conservative and libertarian-minded listeners, many of whom have gravitated toward him because of his public divorce from the local Republican Party and its leaders, particularly former Gov. Matt Blunt and his father, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt.

"As soon as Vince was not on the radio, we suddenly lost our voice for the entire city," said Rabbi Dan Stitt of Springfield. "I want Vince on the radio."

Two local Republican elected officials, Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott and Prosecutor Darrell Moore, briefly showed up during the two-hour event at Rendezvous Coffee, 320 Park Central West, in downtown Springfield.

The "Defense of Vince" Facebook group has a pretty interesting array of comments from Jericho supporters, who appear to be organizing a phone call campaign to the parent company of Journal Communications.  It looks like the group organizers have also banned a staffer for Busiek's 7th District Congressional Republican Committee from the discussion for pursuing an "anti-Vince agenda."

Image credit: Defense of Vince