Phoenix ‘Draw Muhammad’ Organizer Allegedly Threatened with Beheading, Goes Into Hiding

Following the May 29 “Draw Muhammad” contest in Phoenix, event organizer and former Marine Jon Ritzheimer said he and his family will go into hiding because his family is under threat and Islamists are “calling for a ‘lone wolf’ to come and behead [him].”

Breitbart News spoke with Ritzheimer moments before the “Draw Muhammad” contest began Friday night, and he had already gotten his family safely out of the state at that point.

The actual contest and free speech rally organized by Ritzheimer went off without a hitch or violence, but Ritzheimer wants everyone to know that the peace on Friday night is not indicative of the treatment he is receiving behind the scenes.

Mediaite published a video of a reporter asking Ritzheimer a question as the rally was winding down. The unidentified reporter asked if those participating in the rally were “confrontational.” Ritzheimer responded: “This is still peaceful as far as I can tell.” He said his rally consisted of patriots getting “stuff off their chests.”

He then pointed to the Muslim congregation and their supporters aligned against the “Draw Muhammad” rally and said they were “getting [things] off their chests” too. He said, “They are mad. They are mad at us for exercising our First Amendment rights.”

When asked about the job Phoenix police did at the rally, he said they did “an outstanding job.” But Ritzheimer claimed that the very fact that police had to attend, monitor, and control the rally was “again, further proof that the First Amendment is under attack.” He added: “This is tyranny right here. This is tyranny at its finest.”

Ritzheimer also alluded to another example of the “tyranny” he alleges; namely, that he and his family must now go into hiding because of the cartoons and free speech rally. He said: “I’m having to sell my house, my family has been threatened, so they’re in hiding. I’m having to go into hiding after this. Because they are calling for ‘lone wolves’ to come and behead me. That’s following their book as it’s written.”

Ritzheimer then reflected a moment and said: “That’s tyranny. That’s terrorism right here in America. This isn’t happening over seas. This is in America.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.