By Dennis McCaslin, Today in Fort Smith
In a disturbing turn of events, Javier Leiva, the self-proclaimed journalist and host of the Pretend Podcast, has engaged in a relentless campaign of harassment against podcaster David McClam of the We Are Not Afraid Podcast.
The bizarre harassment reached a new low when Leiva began calling car dealerships in California, providing them with the contact information for McClam’s wife under the pretense that the family needed to buy a new vehicle.
McClam said on Friday someone in Levias' circle had also taken photos from his wife's Fakebook account and were using them as a "profile picture" connected to a Reddit account.
It's not the first incident of Leiva harassing others who disagree with his slanted content. Among others, we at Today in Fort Smith have been targeted by Levia and his "cult-like" followers.
Leiva is also connected to Anthony Christopher, an alternative nightclub owner who faced charges for Medicaid fraud in 2018 after multiple whistleblowers came forward. Because Today in Fort Smith has vigorously reported the truth on the outcome of that case, including exposing other controversies involving Christopher, who owns a gay resort in Eureka Springs.
What sort of “journalist” pulls such underhanded tricks?
While investigating the incident yesterday afternoon, the McClams discovered that Leiva was calling the car lots himself, using his real name—Javier—but passing along the phone number of McClam’s wife as the contact.
The aim seems to be nothing more than causing confusion and discomfort, raising serious questions about Leiva’s ethics and professionalism.
Leiva has targeted his podcast subjects in this manner a number of times.. He’s become notorious for harassing the people he features on his show, including figures like Frank Abagnale, whom Leiva accosted at a public event.
Such tactics have become a pattern for the host, who surrounds himself with questionable characters he affectionately refers to as his “surrogates.”
Among those in Leiva's inner circle are individuals like Alecia Lockhart—a plus-size porn star and disgraced author known for her now-retracted book, Strangled. Lockhart’s controversial connections, alongside Leiva’s, cast further doubt on his journalistic integrity.
There’s also Patti Rush, a founder of the group REVAMP, who has a past riddled with arrests for writing hot checks and was dismissed as a non-compensated contributor after misusing her connection to this publication while approaching area law enforcement agencies.
Leiva himself isn’t a stranger to legal trouble. He’s been arrested for DUI, and more recently, he has come under fire for his questionable use of AI to bolster content for the Pretend Podcast.
Leiva has even openly admitted to these accusations, casting further doubt on the authenticity of his so-called “journalism.” This may be why his content has been branded by some as a “shodcast”—a sham of a show.
To make matters worse, Leiva’s harassment campaign has also expanded to target me, Dennis McCaslin, the owner and editor of Today in Fort Smith.
But let me make one thing perfectly clear: As I told him when he called Wednesday morning wanting to "ask me a few questions", Javier Leiva can kiss my ass, and I stand firmly by that sentiment.
It’s a message to all those who believe they can bully, intimidate, or harass their way to the truth—or some distorted version of it.
In addition, the Wednesday phone call was the second time Levia has been told that I and Today in Fort Smith have nothing to say to him that he can edit and distort whatever I say to fit his paid agenda with a Eureka Springs drag queen. He has been told not to contact me or anyone associated with Today in Fort Smith in the future and will be subjected to dealing with law enforcement on harassment charges should he choose to ignore that edict.
At the end of the day, Leiva’s antics reveal more about his character than any of the stories he claims to investigate. His actions are not only unethical but also petty and senseless, disqualifying him as a journalist and branding him, instead, as a harasser.
It’s high time that listeners of the Pretend Podcast recognize it for what it is: a baseless and misleading “shodcast” with no real value or substance to offer.
