Opinion

Media Attempts to Omit Legal Status Of Man Arrested For Murder Of Muslim Girl

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Will Ricciardella Social Media Strategist and Politics Writer
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The establishment media’s hasty misreporting and omission of facts relating to the alleged murder of a 17-year old Muslim girl by a 22-year old illegal alien suspect Sunday morning looks like an attempt to push a narrative and not the facts.

Before the details of the brutal murder were able to materialize, The Atlantic did not hesitate in trying to fit the killing into a neatly wrapped narrative, writing “Muslim Americans are mourning—and terrified.” The articles headline boasts “Muslims Feel Under Siege” and included the 17-year old’s murder as one of “two violent incidents” specifically targeting Muslims occurring over the weekend. The other incident was a man accused of ploughing his van into a group of worshippers outside a mosque in London, killing one person and injuring 11.

Far left magazine Affinity wasted no time Monday in proclaiming that “this [murder] is terrorism,” and “it comes with no surprise that bigots” cannot accept terrorism as anything other than “non-exclusive of Muslims.” Affinity doubles down on their extemporaneous reporting, lamenting the fact that hate crime allegations are “still” being investigated despite “evidence that proves” the girl was targeted for her faith.

At the time of Affinity’s and The Atlantic’s reporting, no facts about the killers motive were known. However, hours later police reported that there was “nothing” to indicate that the murder was a hate crime, but instead an act of “road rage.” Not only was there no evidence to support their sanctimonious claims, but the accused attacker is not even an American citizen.

Later that same evening, The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reported that the suspect, Darwin A. Martinez Torres, is in the United States illegally from El Salvador. The media’s handling of these new facts was indicative of their intent to use this tragedy for their own ends. CNN‘s report revealing that the murder was an act of road rage was forceful in their reporting of the emotionally distraught father’s claims that it was a hate crime. Nowhere in the CNN report was it mentioned the suspect immigration status mentioned, so as not to sully the narrative.

The closest The Washington Post came to reporting that Torres is an illegal alien was quickly mentioning a “detainer” placed on him by “U.S. Immigration officials” for “possible” deportation proceedings. WaPo, reporting that he spoke through a translator to answer the judges questions, never once uses the term “illegal alien” or “illegal immigrant” to describe Torres.

The New York Times reported honestly on Torres’ legal status but waited until the next day and included quotes from the slain girls father saying that the public “should stop hating on people” because of religious differences. TheNYT also included that local Muslim leaders were confident that the police would review whether the victim was “targeted because she was Muslim.” Two paragraphs later, the Times acknowledges that the police “classified the case as a ‘road rage incident,'” before describing the reported series of events.

Two of the three Monday evening shows on the big three cable networks ignored the story entirely. ABC News mentioned it briefly in a video segment, with the teaser ahead of the story asking the question, “was it a hate crime?” ABC reported on Torres’ motive of “road rage” earlier that same day, as well as his legal status before the show aired, yet it was never mentioned on the show.

NBC finally reported on the story Wednesday night, describing Torres as a “construction worker” with no mention of his legal status and reporting that “prosecutors cannot rule out” pursuing charges for a hate crime. Their report came two days after the police reported there was no evidence the killing was a hate crime.

The establishment media’s crusade to highlight tragedies to perpetuate a narrative continues. Their effort to spin a alleged vicious murder committed by an illegal alien of a 17-year old girl because he was “angry” into the broader narrative that this was symptomatic of America’s Islamophobia, shows just how far they’re willing to go.

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Will Ricciardella