Comedian Bill Maher said conservative media — including the Drudge Report, Fox News and The Daily Caller — may have had a hand in inspiring Dylann Roof to shoot up a black church in Charleston, S.C. this week.
Maher was discussing the massacre with a panel on his HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” that included Daily Caller senior contributor Matt Lewis.
“We can never know why someone snaps, but I bet you I know where he got his news,” Maher said, referring to Roof, who killed nine people in the attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church.
“I looked at your website the last week,” Maher continued, referring to The Daily Caller. “There were a lot of stories about black people. A lot of stories.”
“Same with Matt Drudge,” the host added. “I think they present a really twisted view. I’m not surprised this guy thought ‘they’re taking over the country.'”
Maher then compared Fox News to Anwar al-Awlaki, the American citizen and al-Qaida operative who was killed in a 2011 drone strike. The Obama administration defended targeting al-Awlaki by claiming that as an influential imam he helped radicalize terrorists in the Middle East.
“I wouldn’t say we should be droning Fox News,” Maher said, “but we did drone Anwar al-Awlaki because he inspired people. He didn’t do any terrorist acts, but he did inspire people.”
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