‘Kill all muslims’ tweet sends ‘muslims’ hashtag trending and unleashes firestorm of abuse toward Fox News
A screenshot of Erik Rush’s Twitter page.
A tweet by conservative columnist Erik Rush — that all Muslims should be killed in response to the Boston Marathon bombings — has set off a firestorm of debate on Twitter.
The hashtag #muslims was trending as pro- and anti-Islamic voices weighed in.
In what was widely described as a "joke," Rush tweeted:
Everybody do the National Security Ankle Grab! Let's bring more Saudis in without screening them! C'mon! #bostonmarathon — Erik Rush (@erikrush) April 15, 2013
When a responder tweeted, "Are you ALREADY BLAMING MUSLIMS??" Rush responded:
"Yes, they're evil. Let's kill them all."
He later tweeted that he was being sarcastic.
However, when a predictable flood of abuse, shocked disgust and the occasional encouragement came, Rush appeared defiant, retweeting the more profane of the responses.
Some reports referred to Rush as a Fox News contributor. Carly Shanahan of Fox News told GlobalPost on Tuesday: "Rush is not a Fox News contributor, he is only a guest and not even a regular guest of the network – he has been on a total of five times in the last twelve months."
Here is a cross section that we found representative of the reaction.
There is no paywall on the story you just read because a community of dedicated listeners and readers have contributed to keep the global news you rely on free and accessible for all. Will you join the 319 donors who have supported The World so far? From now until Dec. 31, your gift will help us unlock a $67,000 match. Donate today to double your impact!