Andrew Breitbart, a conservative blogger and activist, has passed away at the age of 43 of natural causes in Los Angeles. Orson Bean, Breitbart’s father-in-law, said he collapsed when walking close to his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
“He collapsed on the sidewalk and the paramedics were there very quickly and they couldn’t revive him,” Bean said, according to Reuters.
It is believed, according to a friend, that Breitbart suffered a heart attack. The friend also said that Breitbart has suffered from a history of problems with his heart.
Breitbart attacked ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, helping bring down the organization. He posted videos of employees being secretly taped as they issued tax advice to a couple posing as a prostitute and a pimp. Congress denied ACORN federal housing funds because of the videos, which fell apart back in 2010.
Breitbart worked with the Drudge Report and helped launch the Huffington Post back in 2005 with Arianna Huffington. The founder of the Drudge Report, Matt Drudge, released a statement on Breitbart:
“He was a constant source of energy, passion and commitment. I still see him in my mind’s eye in Venice Beach (in Los Angeles), the sunny day I met him. He was in his mid 20s. It was all there. He had a wonderful, loving family and we all feel great sadness for them today,” Drudge wrote.
Breitbart was pronounced dead at a hospital around 12:20 a.m. Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Department of Coroner. An autopsy should be performed on Friday. Ed Winter, the spokesman for the coroner said, “He had some medical issues, hadn’t seen a doctor in over a year and we don’t have his medical history yet.”
“We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior. Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love,” a page of memorial on Breitbart’s website said.
Mitt Romney posted the following message on his Twitter account:
“Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of @AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father.”
Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, posted a message on Facebook:
“We are all stunned and saddened by the news of Andrew Breitbart’s passing,” she wrote. “Andrew was a warrior who stood on the side of what was right.”
A strategist for the Democratic Party, Donna Brazile, posted the following on Twitter:
“Andrew Breitbart was a conservative political combatant who was unafraid of his critics. We battled on and off air, but he was a genius.”
Breitbart wrote the following passage in his book entitled “Righteous Indignation:”
“I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and – famously – I enjoy making enemies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.”