UPDATE, April 6: An email sent by "Virginia Commonwealth University News" insists, despite the November 2014 tweet originally found at the link about Bryan's "GoFundMe" effort, that Alix Bryan "has not been employed by Virginia Commonwealth University." Accordingly, the text in this post's final sentence now refers to Bryan's claim in her WTVR bio and at her LinkedIn profile to have received a "Master’s in Multimedia Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University."

Opening up a new frontier in the left's ongoing effort to intimidate opponents into silence, a Virginia TV reporter tweeted on Wednesday that "I have reported the GoFundMe for Memories Pizza for fraud. Just in case." In doing so, social media reporter Alix Bryan of CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia, effectively admitted that she had no factual basis upon which to file such a report — but did so anyway.

To the surprise of very few, after she was publicly criticized for this disgraceful behavior, Bryan went to a wide variety of failed defenses before she ended up very inadequately "apologizing."

Here is the tweet which started the festivities:

Any doubt about the intent of Ms. Bryan's effort was actually dispelled 15 minutes earlier in a separate tweet and her related follow-up responses:

When the blowback arrived, Bryan:

Claimed she was acting on her own in her personal capacity ( "My work has nothing to do with this" ), even though at the time (since modified in a lame cover-up attempt) her Twitter account clearly identified her affiliation with the station, and the station's "official page gives links to her private one" (it doesn't now, but it did).

), even though at the time (since modified in a lame cover-up attempt) her Twitter account clearly identified her affiliation with the station, and the station's "official page gives links to her private one" (it doesn't now, but it did). Whined that what she was doing "wasn't bad faith, it was caution." The tweet posted before her bogus "fraud" report demonstrates otherwise. In her "wasn't bad faith" tweet, she threatened a particularly vocal critic: "Not sure what you want to prove but I can report you for harassment, & will if needed." The critic's response: "So questioning baseless reports of fraud is harassment?"

The tweet posted before her bogus "fraud" report demonstrates otherwise. In her "wasn't bad faith" tweet, she threatened a particularly vocal critic: The critic's response: "So questioning baseless reports of fraud is harassment?" Contended that she had tried to contact Lawrence B. Jones III, the initial organizer and manager of the GoFundMe effort — after she submitted her fraud report (another admission of presumptive defamation, as several tweeters observed) — "I also did research afterward and contacted person who started fund." Lawrence tweeted that no such contact attempt ever occurred. Talk show host Dana Loesch, who has been promoting Jones's effort, also indicated that she was never contacted.

Lawrence tweeted that no such contact attempt ever occurred. Talk show host Dana Loesch, who has been promoting Jones's effort, also indicated that she was never contacted. Issued an apology that registered "11" on the 1-10 insincerity meter. She pretended to be genuinely "concerned" when one of her tweets clearly showed she was outraged that "being bigoted" was being rewarded; that she was worried about "a theft of donations," even though she made no attempt to contact the account's overseers; and that she didn't intend to start a "hateful conversation." The closest thing to anything approaching regret is her promise that "in the future my actions will be more measured."

According to the Gateway Pundit's Kristinn Taylor, "A spokeswoman for WTVR told The Gateway Pundit the station is still reviewing Alix Bryan’s situation. No statement has been issued by the station as of (Friday at) 5 p.m. EDT."

Bryan's unhinged behavior is symptomatic of what we've seen from the left as the Memories Pizza saga has unfolded. What most people are naturally seeing as a heartwarming story of people coming to rescue of someone unfairly targeted by the left's Thought Police is driving them, particularly leftist journalists, over the edge. Then, as seen here, they naturally try to blame conservatives and bigots for the blowback. As Allahpundit at Hot Air wrote yesterday:

The more excitable members of the left’s gay-marriage mob can’t cope with how this Two Minutes Hate for O’Connor and her business played out. So, as conspiracy theorists are wont to do, they’re reaching for an explanation that makes them feel better about it.

So it has to be a scam. Or a "fraud." Or a perfectly executed, well thought-out plan to arouse right-wing haters.

Here's a suggestion to the left's haters and pizza truthers: Take a deep breath, and consider the meaning of Jesus Christ's resurrection and how it should be affecting how you live your everyday lives. After all, tomorrow is Easter.

Exit point: I almost forgot to tell readers that Alix Bryan once used GoFundMe to fund a Las Vegas trip for herself — and claims to have received a "Master’s in Multimedia Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University" in 2010.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.