At 4 PM, Politico's Dylan Byers Still Wasn't Sure If Charlie Hebdo Murderers Were Islamic Terrorists

January 7th, 2015 9:28 PM

In an item time-stamped 4:11 p.m. ET at his "On Media" blog at the Politico, Dylan Byers wrapped up a post primarily about the Associated Press removing its "Piss Christ" photo from its image library by claiming, in reference to the Charlie Hebdo Magazine murders in Paris, that "Though there (sic) identity is as yet unknown, the masked gunmen are believed to be Islamic terrorists."

Here's most of Byers' post about the outrageous hypocrisy at AP, which shortly affter the massacre had publicly announced that it would not show any Charlie Hebdo Islamic cartoon images:

AP pulls 'Piss Christ' after Paris attack

The Associated Press has removed an image of Andres Serrano's 1987 photograph "Piss Christ" from its image library following Wednesday's attack against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

... Until today, the AP's policy allowed for Serrano's photograph, which depicts a statue of Christ submerged in urine and has repeatedly caused controversy when exhibited. "Piss Christ" was once vandalized, and both Serrano and gallery owners have received death threats over the years.

... The AP was one of several news organizations to either blur or crop photos featuring a Charlie Hebdo cartoon depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammed. In an email earlier today, AP spokesperson Paul Colford cited the “longstanding policy” as its reason for not showing the cartoons.

Both the cropping of the Hebdo cartoons and the decision to remove Serrano's photo have been interpreted by many as a capitulation to the attackers' efforts to limit the freedom of expression. Though there (sic) identity is as yet unknown, the masked gunmen are believed to be Islamic terrorists.

Geez, Dylan.

At 12:18 p.m., President Obama called the massacre a "terrorist attack."

By 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. London Time), Tony Barber at the Financial Times had already started blaming the victims by criticizing the Charlie Hebdo's "Muslim-baiting."

Finally, it was widely known, and even acknowledged at the normally reticent BBC, that the perpetrators had shouted "We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" in French and "God is Great" in Arabic ("Allahu Akbar"). Gateway Pundit was relaying the "Allah Akbar!" element just before 8 a.m. Central Time (9 a.m. Eastern).

It's not like Byers took an 8-hour nap in the middle of the day. Shortly before noon, he posted the now-famous "He Drew First" cartoon.

What possible reason was there to quality your final sentence by claiming that these murderers "are believed to be" Islamic, and terrorists?

There isn't one.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.