About
Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker is a nickname given to Kai, a man who saved a woman from an attacker by hitting him repeatedly with a hatchet. On the Internet, he was hailed as a hero after a local news station uploaded a video of his eye witness account to YouTube in February of 2013.
Origin
On February 2nd, 2013, YouTuber Jessob Reisbeck uploaded a video featuring an interview with a homeless man named Kai from a local Fox affiliate KMPH in Fresno, California. In the video, Kai recounted saving a woman from a deranged man who had just rammed a man with his car (shown below).
The same day, Reisbeck uploaded an extended version of the KMPH news report as it was aired, including several other eye witness accounts insisting that the man rammed his car into a PG&E worker because he was black (shown below).
Spread
On the following day, Redditor Kickass_Cajun submitted the video to the /r/videos[1] subreddit, where it received over 6,400 up votes and 1,000 comments within 48 hours. Shortly after the video was submitted to Reddit, it was made private by the uploader. That same day, a mirror version of the video hosted on World Star Hip Hop was submitted to the /r/justiceporn[2] subreddit, where it received more than 1,600 up votes and 250 comments within the next two days. The News Tribune[11] published an article reporting that the PG&E worker was sent to a hospital with a broken leg and that the attacker had been identified as Jett Simmons McBride, a 54-year-old from Tacoma, Washington. Also on February 3rd, a Facebook group called Kai the Homefree Hitchhiker[9] was created by an anonymous fan and Kai himself later was invited to the group as an administrator. The fan page gained 340 likes within the first 48 hours. On the following day, the original video was shared on Uproxx[13], The FW[14] and Metafilter[12], where it earned more than 120 comments. The same day, YouTuber MrDamageGames uploaded a musical remix based on the news report (shown below).
On February 5th, Kai’s interview was featured on TIME[3], the Daily Kos[4], Perez Hilton[5], BoingBoing[6] and Buzzfeed.[7] A Wikipedia page[8] was submitted for Kai, but it was promptly deleted.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]Reddit – Full, uncensored interview with the hatchet
[2]Reddit – Man who tries to run down utility worker because he is black subdued by a homeless guy with a hatchet
[3]TIME– WATCH: Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker Defeats Racist Jesus
[4]Daily Kos – Hatchet Wielding Homeless Hitchhiker Saves The Day
[5]Perez Hilton – Racist Killer “Jesus” Thwarted By Hatchet-Wielding, Hitchhiking Hero!
[6]BoingBoing – Hitchhiker saves woman from attack by hatchet-chopping psycho
[7]Buzzfeed – Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker Saves Woman From Raving Racist, Gives Best Interview Ever
[8]Wikipedia – Kai hitchhiker
[9]Facebook – Kai The Homefree Hitchhiker
[10]Gawker – Hatchet wielding hitchiker gives insane interview
[11]The News Tribune – Tacoma man jailed in Fresno
[12]MetaFilter – The Most Insane News Story You’ll See Today
[13]Uproxx – Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker Saves Woman From Racist Jesus, Gives Profanity-Filled Interview
[14]The FW – Homeless Hitchhiker Saves a Life, Tells Insane Story of Meeting ‘Jesus’