Jonathan Joss, known for voicing John Redcorn in King of the Hill and various other roles in film and television, was shot to death June 1 outside the ruins of his San Antonio, Texas home. The gunman shouted violent homophobic slurs, according to Joss’s husband.

Joss was 59. The day before his murder he gave an interview on “Bwaaa! A King of The Hill Podcast“ in Austin, Texas, where he was warmly received.

Joss also appeared on Walker Texas Ranger, ER, Charmed, Friday Night Lights and Parks and Recreation. He did voice acting for several video games and played in a band.

Chris Pratt, who co-starred in Parks and Recreation, mourned Joss’s passing on his Instagram, commenting,

RIP Jonathan...Always such a kind dude. He played Ken Hotate in Parks and was also in Mag 7 [Magnificent 7]. Sad to see.

Nick Offerman, another Parks and Recreation co-star, said that the whole cast was “texting” about the loss of Joss “all day.”

Jonathan was such a sweet guy and we loved having him as our Chief Ken Hotate. A terrible tragedy.

The San Antonio Police Department reported that around 7:00 p.m. officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Dorsey Street for a shooting in progress. Upon arrival, they found Joss with multiple gunshot wounds lying near the roadway. Medical aid was administered by police, but EMS pronounced him dead on the scene once they arrived.

The suspect in the shooting, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 59, confessed to the killing, saying “I shot him” to the police. Ceja Alvarez, who People reports is one of Joss’s neighbors, was arrested a block away after fleeing the scene. He was held on a $200,000 bond for felony first-degree murder, and a rifle was confiscated from him.

Joss is survived by his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales, who he married on Valentines Day. Kern de Gonzales said in a statement on Joss’s Facebook account (viewable here) that he and Joss were visiting their destroyed home only to pick up the mail when the shooting occurred. 

The house burned three months ago, after two years of threats against the pair in what may well have been arson. The threats were reported numerous times to police. Reports indicate that the couple were using a charcoal grill on January 23 to heat the house. San Antonio saw freezing temperatures on that day, and the house was disconnected from utilities as Joss was unemployed and unable to pay for utilities. Despite extinguishing the flame and leaving briefly, the couple returned to a burning house. Their three dogs died in the fire. 

The statement explained:

When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw.

While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.

Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.

The statement added:

We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future. He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other. I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved.

San Antonio Express-News says that Joss told them at the time of his house fire that a neighbor “laughed” at him as he emerged from the fire carrying the remains of his dogs.

Joss was in the process of moving from Texas to California to pursue his acting career, and was expected to feature on the reboot of King of the Hill.

San Antonio police (SAPD) asserted at 5:34 p.m. June 2 in a post on X, obviously referencing Kern de Gonzales’s statement, that despite “online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation” claiming it “thoroughly reviewed all available evidence. Should any new evidence come to light, the suspect will be charged accordingly.” No explanation was provided as to how the police debunked the claims made by Kern de Gonzales, who was an eyewitness to the shooting. 

Police allege that an eyewitness saw Ceja Alvarez pull up in his car behind the couple as they were picking up their mail, argue with Joss and open fire.

The corporate media is already engaging in a campaign to refute any responsibility of the far right for the death. The New York Post claimed there was no hate crime and that this was just a neighborly feud gone tragically wrong, citing claims by two neighbors that Joss was “erratic,” that he “wasn’t a good neighbor” and that he “screamed a lot.” The Post, a right-wing rag, cited the SAPD’s statement, adding that police responded over 40 times to the address.

Even if one were to concede that these characterizations were accurate, it doesn’t address the question of the killer’s motives.

The aim of such pieces is not to tell the truth but to let the extreme right off the hook. The ultra-right Texas Republican Party is well known for its promotion of homophobia.

The fascist politics espoused by the Republican Party has played a role in motivating numerous incidents, including the 2023 Allen Mall shooting in Dallas, in which nine people died, committed by a neo-Nazi.

As the WSWS noted, in an article on the Texas Republican Party’s 2024 Convention,

Among the other right-wing planks in the 50-page platform are statements that “abortion is not healthcare it is homicide” and “to enact legislation to abolish abortion by immediately securing the right to equal protection of the laws to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization.” It states that gender-transition treatment for children is “child abuse” and “homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice.”