A Democratic Congressional candidate, Derek Hoyt, is first seen trying to have a “civilized discussion” with a right wing talk radio host Jordan Reed. But when the radio host accuses him of being part of a “pedophile ring”, a disgusted Hoyt leaves.
The next day, someone fatally pushes Hoyt in front of a bus.
Cosgrove and Bernard investigate Hoyt and find out that someone has been Photoshopping images of him with young girls, to make it appear as though Hoyt is attracted to minors. They also find the guy who pushed Hoyt in front of the bus - a disgruntled ex-Marine named Manuel Lopez who is a huge fan of Jordan Reed and is active on a right wing chat room. The detectives get Lopez to flip on Reed.
But just as Reed’s trial begins, Lopez hangs himself.
The prosecutor lowers the charges from murder for hire to depraved indifference murder. At first, they cannot find any damning evidence at any of the rallies, but when a rally attendee admits on the stand about text message notifications to attend the rally, the prosecutors find the evidence they need - video of Reed telling a fan he wished a listener would actually kill a politician.
Despite arguing he wasn't being serious, Reed is found guilty and is hauled away.
This work contains examples of the following tropes
- False Pedophilia Accusation: Reed photoshopped images of young girls posted either by themselves or their parents, next to the victim to make it appear as if he is alone with them.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Lopez states this as his motivation; he genuinely believed Hoyt was the leader of an influential pedophile ring.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the QAnon conspiracy (which is referenced by name.)
- Take That!: Cosgrove grumbles about how all coffee shops seem to have stupid names.
- Talk Show: Jordan Reed ran a right wing pundit show.
