Retired Army sniper Nicholas Irving, known as "The Reaper," fired off an angry shot at liberal filmmaker Michael Moore for his attack on the blockbuster new film "American Sniper."
Moore has created a furor by tweeting to his followers: "My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes."
Now Irving, author of
"The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers," has ripped into Moore, telling Fox News, "I don’t think [Moore] deserves the breath that I’m about to give.
"The last time I checked he hadn’t shot anybody with a scope rifle, so I don’t think [Moore] deserves the breath that comes out of me right now."
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The former Ranger sergeant, who had 33 confirmed kills, added, "A lot of good guys and my friends died for his right to freedom of speech. I’m not worried about what he has to say."
Starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood, "American Sniper" is based on the true story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who was credited with 160 confirmed kills and was dubbed the most lethal sniper in U.S. history.
In February 2013, Kyle was shot dead in Texas by Eddie Ray Routh, a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, whom Kyle was trying to help.
The film grossed a
record $90.2 million in its opening weekend to set a U.S. record for January, far surpassing the previous record of $68.5 million by James Cameron’s "Avatar."