Rush Limbaugh wondered on his
syndicated radio show Monday why the federal government feels the need to go to great lengths to defend Islam as a religion of peace after incidents such as the deadly Orlando attack last week.
Limbaugh played a sound bite from Monday's press conference in which FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ronald Hopper said that although the shooter, Omar Mateen, identified himself as a soldier for the Islamic State (ISIS), he "does not represent the religion of Islam but a perverted view."
That, Limbaugh noted, was identical to the
language used over the weekend by Attorney Gen. Loretta Lynch.
"The extremist views have nothing to do with Islam whatsoever, this special agent at the FBI is telling us," Limbaugh said. "Even though the guy pledged support for ISIS, 'We currently have no evidence that he was directed by a foreign terrorist group but was radicalized domestically.' What's the difference? I mean, when you get right down to it, what's the difference?"
Limbaugh also noted that Hopper said the investigation could take years to determine Mateen's motive even though he clearly said in a 911 phone calls he killed 49 people at the Pulse gay nightclub for the purposes of jihad.
A caller to the show later argued that the FBI didn't take much time figuring out the motives one year earlier when Dylann Roof killed nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina. The shooter said he wanted to spark a race war.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.