1969 – 2012

This is from his site Big Journalism…

With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart.

Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.   

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.

Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, 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.

Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.

Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.

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Daily Caller provides additional details…

Joel B. Pollak, the editor-in-chief and in-house counsel at Breitbart.com, confirmed the news in an email to The Daily Caller. Katie Bosland, an ABC producer, tweets, “LA Coroner’s office has confirmed to @ABC that Andrew Breitbart passed away last night at UCLA Medical Center.”  Pollak said he couldn’t immediately provide more details on Breitbart’s passing.  “None additional,” he said.

Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight Thursday when he collapsed, his father-in-law Orson Bean said.  Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center, Bean said.

Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.  “I don’t know what to say. It’s devastating,” Bean told The Associated Press.

Before creating an empire of news websites — including Breitbart.com, Big Government, Big Hollywood, Big Journalism, Big Peace, Breitbart.tv — Breitbart worked with Matt Drudge at the Drudge Report and Arianna Huffington at the Huffington Post.

In recent years, Breitbart and his websites received attention for posting undercover videos exposing the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and for his role in the resignation of former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner.  Just last month, Breitbart joined The Daily Caller in attending a well-publicized dinner with former Weather Underground leaders Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.

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Last year Andrew, who himself is Jewish, spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference.  Watch, and remember why he was so loved and respected.