James Larkin Obituary, Backpage Founder, Alt-Weekly Entrepreneur, and Free Speech Warrior Has Died joy anchie, August 3, 2023 James Larkin Obituary, Death – James Larkin was a businessman, journalist, and First Amendment activist who died just over a week before his trial for his role in establishing the online classifieds website Backpage. Larkin perished in a car collision. Larkin, who was 74 years old, committed suicide on Monday. He was an Arizona native who was born and raised in Maricopa County. He is survived by his wife, six children, a number of publications, and a history of defending free expression. Additionally, he leaves a legacy of defending free expression. The Phoenix New Times was an anti-war student publication before Larkin and writer Michael Lacey turned it into a thorough account of Maricopa County’s politics and culture. Even today, the newspaper is still going strong. The New Times did not hold back when it came to reporting on local law enforcement, influential figures like Senator John McCain and his wife Cindy, and divisive issues like abortion, immigrant rights, and the 1976 murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles. “I had recently returned from attending school in Mexico City, where I had learned about the late 1960s and early 1970s Mexican student movement. They were truly serious radicals and revolutionaries, and the Mexican government executed many of them in the years that followed. “I had recently returned from attending school in Mexico City, where I had learned about the late 1960s and early 1970s Mexican student movement. In a 2018 interview with Reason, Larkin stated, “I realized that politics was a serious business.” The newspaper “really seemed to have the potential to have an impact on politics,” in my opinion. Obituary