Prosecutor gets backlash over free-speech 'attack'

Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, has begun to see backlash from his appearance this week at a Muslim event where he suggested some statements about Islam on social media could be prosecuted under the nation's civil rights laws.

According to free speech blogger Pamela Geller, "my winning legal counsel," the American Freedom Law Center lawyers, have asked for details from the executive office for U.S. Attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Killian made headlines because he told a Tennessee newspaper he would be at the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee and "provide input on how civil rights can be violated by those who post inflammatory documents targeted at Muslims on social media."

His comments were made to the Tullahoma News in Tennessee.

Geller, who participated in a free speech rally and attended the Tennessee meeting, confirmed that David Yerushalmi, co-founder and senior counsel for the AFLC, has dispatched a letter to federal officials, asking for "records, reports, writings, notes, documents, memoranda, emails, photographs, videotapes, tape recordings, PowerPoint presentations, or other statements or recordings."

Requested is information relating to Killian's appearance at the "Public Disclosure in a Diverse Society" event.

Also requested are the documents and recordings used in the presentation by Kenneth Moore, special agent in charge of the FBI's Knoxville office, at the same event.

Geller called the event a "full frontal attack on free speech.'

In contrast, the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement praising the meeting.

"We applaud the federal officials who, while defending First Amendment freedoms, stood up for the right of American Muslims to be free from bias-motivated attacks and intimidation," said CAIR communications chief Ibrahim Hooper. "The mob mentality demonstrated at last night's event should be a wakeup call to all Americans who value religious tolerance."

Geller noted CAIR was started "as a Hamas front group to carry out the Muslim Brotherhood's anti-American agenda."

"The evidence shows that CAIR is a criminal terrorist organization," she said. "This conclusion is shared by the United States government. CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in a massive conspiracy to fund raise for, and otherwise pursue, the terrorist agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestine Committee, a public relations and fund raising arm of Hamas in the United States."

She continued: "This group is applauding the attempt to restrict free speech. Are you surprised?"

Geller reported on the event itself.

"Killian gave a power point presentation on hate crimes and hate speech. From beginning to end it was full of condescension, smears, charges that the crowd was racist, and thinly veiled threats that truthful speech about Islam could be prosecuted. Never once did he address the fact that people aren't concerned about Muslims because of racism and xenophobia, but because of the reality of jihad terror and the uniform denial and obfuscation, and victimhood posture, that follows from Muslim communities after every jihad attack."

She said Killian "even stooped so low as to claim a sharp rise in 'religiously motivated hate crimes,' without ever informing the crowd that he was lumping in anti-Semitic hate crimes (which are at worldwide record levels, largely due to Islamic antisemitism) with anti-Muslim hate crimes."

WND reported Killian's description of his plans for the Muslim event.

"This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion," he said. "This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are."

He said everyone needs to understand that Internet postings that violate civil rights are subject to federal jurisdiction.

After all, he said, while some Muslims may blow up buildings, hijack airliners and kill thousands, there are terrorists of other religions, too.

"[Oklahoma City bombers] Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were both Christians as was the guy who shot up the Sikh temple [in Wisconsin]," Killian claimed.

The government's intention to crack down on "anti-Muslim" speech immediately made Judicial Watch's "Corruption Chronicles" feature.

"In its latest effort to protect followers of Islam in the U.S. the Obama Justice Department warns against using social media to spread information considered inflammatory against Muslims, threatening that it could constitute a violation of civil rights," the organization said.

Judicial Watch noted that the Obama administration already has reached out to personally reassure Muslims that the DOJ is protecting them. In that unprecedented move, Attorney General Eric Holder assured a San Francisco-based group called Muslim Advocates, which urges members not to cooperate with federal investigations, that he is grateful to have Muslims with whom to partner.

The Obama administration also has hired a special Homeland Security adviser, Mohamed Elibiary, who openly supports an Islamist theologian who condemns U.S. prosecutions of terrorists, Judicial Watch said.

In addition, the president has ordered NASA to focus on Muslim diplomacy, and Homeland Security officials covertly have met with extremist Arab, Muslim and Sikh groups to talk about national security matters.

The State Department lent its weight by sending anti-America imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on a trip to the Middle East for outreach to Muslims.

Explained Judicial Watch: "Over the years, the Obama administration has embarked on a fervent crusade to befriend Muslims by creating a variety of outreach programs at a number of key federal agencies."

Tullahoma News said Killian wants to let people know about Muslim culture and civil rights laws.

"We want to inform everybody about what the law is, but more importantly, we want to provide what the law means to Muslims, Hindus and every other religion in the country.'

The Obama administration also is launching a series of Muslim Outreach Summits so that Muslims can tell federal officials how they can better serve that community.

WND initially discovered documents referring to the Muslim summits while examining a U.S. Department of Education procurement of data-gathering and report-writing services.

The services are specific to information being assembled by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or WHIAAPI, which Obama created via executive order in 2009.

Upon closer inspection, however, WND learned that the Education Department explicitly will direct the selected contractor to chronicle findings and recommendations gleaned from the Muslim Outreach Summits.

The White House views this year's venues as an extension of a previous outreach to "new immigrants and refugees – some of the most underserved in the AAPI community," according to a document titled "WHIAAPI 2013 Faith-Based and Community Engagement."

Complementing the prior effort will be the three "regional convenings," tentatively scheduled June 15 in Chicago, June 22 in San Francisco and June 29 in New York City.

"These cities are main AAPI immigrant hubs and entry points for new immigrants/refugees," according to a related document, "Questions Received from Vendors: Development and Preparation of the AAPI Annual Report to the President."

"Each convening with [sic] include panel discussions/workshops with federal officials on key issues impacting the community and also an open-dialogue session to hear directly from the community about issues of concern."

Sometime after the three Muslim Outreach Summits, the chosen contractor will develop and then present its summary report to the president and to newly appointed WHIAAPI commissioners.

The contracting action – the first of its kind since its inception in 2008 – will help lay the foundation for the initiative’s future work, the document says.