Nangle does note:

Most in the crowd did not seem aware of the incident involving Mr. Cirignano and Ms. Loy.

Could this be because nothing actually happened, other than a woman tripping over a young girl’s foot? If the incident had been as violent as Nangle reported, there should have been at least a ripple in the crowd. A video taken by the pro-marriage group MassResistance moments after the incident indicates no disturbance.

The article does contain a hint about Loy’s reason for crashing the permit-sanctioned rally and interfering with public speech, a violation of Massachusetts law:

Counter-demonstrators have been showing up at anti-gay marriage rallies in communities across the state in recent days, chanting and trying to drown out speakers.

But truth is elusive to wags like Telegram columnist Williamson, who opined:

….it was easy to predict the testimony: Every pro-gay activist who witnessed the encounter between Mr. Cirignano and Ms. Loy saw her get pushed, while every anti-gay activist saw her trip, pirouette, or simply fall unaided to the ground, as though she had a case of the vapors.

Cute, except that all but two of the “pro-gay” witnesses admitted not actually seeing the incident. The two who did claim they saw it were proven in court to have been too far away to see it reliably through the crowd.

On Dec. 18, the Boston Globe ran a 354-word piece by James Vaznis headlined, “Catholic group leader denies pushing activist.” The article details the allegation as reported in the Worcester paper, with an additional quote from Loy, who says, “He came out of nowhere. It happened very fast. I never imagined someone would push me.”

Cirignano explains his side to the Globe in a telephone interview, and finishes with, “I promise you. I did not throw her to the ground.”

On October 23, the Globe reported Cirignano’s exoneration in a 115-word squib, the last of a five-item “New England in brief” roundup inside the Metro section. The item concludes with:

Loy was not injured in the fall, and Cirignano denied intentionally pushing her to the ground. A civil rights violation against Cirignano was thrown out by a judge last week [the district attorney’s spokesman] said.

Readers unfamiliar with the incident might be forgiven for thinking, from this summary, that Cirignano pushed her but got off easy.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported the acquittal in a straightforward front page piece on Oct. 23. The article, by Gary V. Murray, identified Loy as secretary of the Worcester County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, and acknowledged that Nangle had testified for the prosecution:

Two prosecution witnesses, the Rev. Aaron R. Payson, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester and Telegram & Gazette reporter Richard A. Nangle, said they saw Mr. Cirignano push Ms. Loy to the ground.

Defense witness Deborah McCarthy of Worcester said Ms. Loy came through the crowd “of her own will” and fell after tripping over Ms. McCarthy’s daughter’s foot. She said Mr. Cirignano was not near Ms. Loy when she fell.

Following the acquittal, a pro-family activist e-mailed Nangle, suggesting that libel may have been committed against Cirignano. Nangle responded with an e-mail suggesting that the e-mail alleging possible libel was in itself perhaps a libel. After a back-and-forth exchange, which included another pro-family activist, the set of e-mails was forwarded to Telegram City Editor Ray Whearley. The editor rebuked all parties for their tone, but stated:

The Telegram & Gazette will not retract any portion of its coverage of the original incident involving Mr. Cirignano. Again, Mr. Nangle was at the event and reported very plainly and unemotionally what he saw. He testified under oath as to what he saw. His account, as was the case with all who testified at the trial, was reported fairly and accurately. There is nothing to retract.

And you can’t retract 10 months of someone living under trumped up criminal charges, either.