Following the bloody carnage that ensued after at least two masked gunmen opened fire on the the Paris-based offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12, supporters of ISIS (Islamic State), al Qaeda, and other extremist groups took to Twitter brandishing their praise for the killings in the name of Allah.
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) issued a press release detailing several Twitter accounts that commended the terrorists saying the act was in retaliation for disrespecting their prophet. Several of the accounts have been suspended as a result of CEP’s work.
One tweet appears to be from a self-proclaimed ISIS supporter:
Another user justified the attacks and called for “peace” to be upon the messengers who took their wrath out on the unarmed civilians:
Others cited justice in the name of their prophet:
A full list of tweets from users supporting the Charlie Hebdo attack can be found here.
CEP is an international policy organization that was formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideology. They have successfully shut down several terrorist-linked accounts on Twitter. CEP is headed by former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to President George W. Bush Frances Townsend, Chief Executive Officer of United Against Nuclear Iran Mark Wallace, and has the support and involvement of former Senator Joseph Lieberman.
Adelle Nazarian is on Twitter @AdelleNaz