MSNBC’s Kohlmann on TX Shooting: ‘When You Provoke People,’ ‘Don’t Be Surprised’

MSNBC Terrorism Analyst Evan Kohlmann declared “when you provoke people, and incite people, that doesn’t make violent actions right, but don’t be surprised that it happens” regarding the shooting at the Mohammad Art Exhibit and Contest and compared the to contest to shouting “fire” in a crowded theater on Monday’s “Hardball.”

Kohlmann said, “I don’t want to be insulting the freedom of speech. Everyone has the right to the freedom of speech, and it’s good to stand by that principle. But these people are not standing by that principle, they’re standing by the principle of hatred for other people. That’s their guiding light. That’s what they do. They are intentionally trying to provoke a response from the Muslim community, and unfortunately, this was predictable. And you know that because the police told them…so, someone knew that there was a likelihood that some stupid person would do this. And again, I don’t think it’s any great revelation, that if you shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, and you incite people, and you say nasty invective about people’s ancestors, and their religious symbols, that there are a couple of crazy nut cases that are going to come out of the woodwork and are going to try to take action over that.”

He continued, “but that has nothing to do with Islam, there are Christians, there are Jews, there are plenty of other people from other faiths who have done the exact same thing. So, we have to be careful here. When you provoke people, and incite people, that doesn’t make violent actions right, but don’t be surprised that it happens. And these people are not only putting Americans here at home at risk, they’re putting American servicemen abroad at risk.”

Kohlmann concluded that because of actions like the Mohammad Art Contest, “Muslims feel alienated, and this is exactly what leads to terrorist recruitment. You want to know why young Muslims in the united states might not feel welcome here, they might not feel like they have a place in American society. Well, is it much doubt when you see stuff like this. This does not help. So, is it their right to do this? Yes, it’s their right to do this. But is it right to do this? No it is not right to do this.”

(h/t The Right Scoop)

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett