In April 2015 , Sexton started covering the 2016 U.S. presidential election , attending multiple rallies for both candidates and writing regular articles for '' Atticus Review '' in his column '' Atticus on the Trail '' . He covered the Charleston shooting and trail of church burnings in the South . In the summer of 2016 , Sexton went to another Trump rally in South Carolina , and reported on the behavior he observed there . His live tweets of the event soon went viral and garnered him national attention , which included frequent death threats . He later wrote about the experience and became a regular contributor to '' The New Republic '' and '' The New York Times . '' In December 2016 , Sexton was a guest political commentator on '' The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell '' on '' MSNBC , '' as well as on various radio programs , including KCRW
Charleston shooting
Charleston church shooting
Jared Yates Sexton