Mosque arsonist tells court: 'I only know what I hear on Fox News'

[meegbear]

Source: Rawstory.com

An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that "most Muslims are terrorists."

Randolph Linn, 52, accepted a plea deal in which he pled guilty to all charges in connection to setting a fire in the prayer room at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo on Sept. 30. Under the deal, Linn is expected to serve 20 years in prison instead of 40. Linn explained to the court that he had gotten "riled up" after watching Fox News.

"And I was more sad when Judge (Jack) Zouhary asked him that, 'Do you know any Muslims or do you know what Islam is?'" one mosque member who attended the hearing recalled to WNWO. "And he said, 'No, I only know what I hear on Fox News and what I hear on radio.'" "Muslims are killing Americans and trying to blow stuff up,” Linn also reportedly told the judge. “Most Muslims are terrorists and don’t believe in Jesus Christ."

Linn claimed that he had consumed 45 beers in the 6 hours before leaving his Indiana home to set fire to the mosque, which he had discovered while working as a truck driver.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/20/mosque-arsonist-tells-court-i-only-know-what-i-hear-on-fox-news/

[louis-t]

1. Can't wait to hear repugs try to defend this.

[dwigthreeD]

18. I see a job

at Fox News in the offing for this loon.

[tomm2thumbs]

30. security guard at their corporate office maybe?

[rivegauche]

34. Just wait. They will claim it's a Democrat

in "disguise" trying to smear them. I would bet the farm on that.

[Warpy]

2. More than 7 beers an hour for 6 hours?

Damn. I'm not sure whether I'm more impressed by the depth of his thirst, the size of his bladder, or the emptiness of his head!

[phantom power]

5. I'm impressed by the capacity of his liver

or, his brain's robustness to alcohol.

[mikeysnot]

19. lite beer fro miller.

my guess...

[Left Coast2020]

53. Nahhh....Pabst Blue Ribbon

[druidity33]

55. At least PBRs are Union Made! nt.

[unblock]

27. he's lying of course.

any cop will tell you that whatever they say they were drinking, it actually was DOUBLE!

[Warpy]

48. Yeah, I've been retired too long

As a nurse, I'd TRIPLE it.

[unblock]

50. in some cases, yes -- "a couple" usually means "a six-pack".

[neeksgeek]

39. I doubt it was that many

While I'm sure he was *quite* drunk, that many "lite" beers in so short a time would, for a ~200 pound male, produce a blood alcohol level of roughly 0.5%; I'm not sure he would have been capable of driving ... if he had 45 beers.

[AAO]

51. That's one thirsty dude!

[ck4829]

3. At least he'll have a good gig for him on Fox News when he gets out in 2032

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. I have to say that I think his sentence is ridiculously long.

20 years in federal prison?

The guy is a drunken idiot who tried to set a prayer rug on fire, and didn't do very well at that. And he had a gun.

How about restitution and a year or two to think about it?

It's not that I'm sympathetic to this guy; I just think a lot of our sentencing practices are insanely punitive. This is another one.

[bigbrother05]

7. Admitted hate crime with a gun and sentence cut in half, he's lucky

If he got a slap on the wrist, what message would be sent to the RWNJs?

Listen to Fox/Rush, get drunk, wave a gun around, and do something stupid. We don't need him on the streets.

[Turbineguy]

9. Another victim

of Fox News.

Warning to Fox viewers: If you do what Fox tells you to do, the justice system wil fuck you big time!

[Warpy]

10. The hope is probably that he'll sober up

and, deprived of Pox News and hate radio 24/7, start to think more clearly about things. That takes time.

He'll likely be out in 6 or 7 and that's appropriate for an old drunk who committed a hate crime.

[arcane1]

16. He may even convert to Islam while in prison

Someone had to say it

[Comrade Grumpy]

20. There is no parole in the federal system. This guy will do 17 years.

Costing the taxpayers about $500,000.

[secondvariety]

42. Money well spent.

Let him rot-he's a terrorist.

[Roy Rolling]

13. yeah, I gotta agree

As repugnant as it is, 20 years for setting a fire with no fatalities is excessive and does little to rehabilitate the offender. Another example of judiciary political correctness. Even if it does punish for a hate crime, cruelty is not the answer.

[JHB]

41. "political correctness"?

If you'd said "overly-strict sentencing guidelines that give insufficient latitude to judges" I'd probably agree with you. But "political correctness"? Can you expand on what you mean by that?

[ck4829]

22. He set a mosque on fire

[Politicalboi]

24. I usually don't have much sympathy

Either, but 20 years is too long. But since he's got time on his hands, he may find a shark of an attorney to sue Faux for his actions. This is what happens when you don't have to report the truth after all.

[Recursion]

6. 45 beers in 6 hours!?!?

Even if it's Whatever Lite, that's 5000 calories, and at 5% ABV a full quart of pure alcohol.

[Science Geek]

26. Wow

When I heard 45 beers in 6 hours, it about floored me, I didn't even know that was possible.
Drinking the equivalent of a quart of 200 proof alcohol, or watching Fox News, is akin to insanity.

[dixiegrrrrl]

40. The liver clears alcohol at the rate of 1 oz per hour.

And there is..what? 1 oz of alcohol per bottle of beer?

But given his capacity, I woud say his liver was probably not functioning "normally"...

actually, I am astounded he could even remember a plan for more than 10 minutes, much less undertake one that involved several steps in sequence.
Or even walk.

[hobbit709]

8. More proof that Fox viewers are less informed that people that watch no news at all.

[Dem2TheCore]

11. Most Muslims don't believe in Jesus Christ.

Most? What an idiot!

[mikeysnot]

21. they believe he was a prophet

not divine or as the Saviour..

[Hugabear]

32. They believe Jesus is one of the most important prophets

Jesus is pretty high up there in the Islamic prophet hierarchy.

[EC]

12. So instead of the "devil made me do it"

it was "fox made me do it"?

[liberal N proud]

14. Evidence to shutdown FOX

[Kingofalldems]

15. K and R for Doocy

[Gregorian]

17. One wonders just how far the 1st Amendment extends. From shouting fire in a theater, to burning...

Fox is treading a god damned thin line. I don't know what I'd have to give up if we agreed to shut them down. I wonder if it would curb my rights enough to not warrant pulling their plug. Evil shits.

[oldbanjo]

23. I'm for shutting them down, why would 47% of the people vote

for an asshole like Romney, they are all brain washed or brain dead.

[Exultant Democracy]

25. Actually Randolph, all Muslims believe in Jesus, they just believe something slightly different

about him then main stream christians. Even then you can find a few sects of christianity that are closer to the muslims beliefs about Jesus then the main stream notions.

[SCVDem]

28. Really the arson got him one year.

Being so bat crap stupid to listen to FOX and RW radio for his news got him 19 more!

[Third Doctor]

29. Why is it this does

not surprise me.

[benld74]

31. They reported, HE decided. Logical isnt it?

[Enrique]

33. how many brain cells does drinking 45 beers kill?

[albear]

35. RE: Mosque arsonist tells court: 'I only know what I hear on Fox News'

Now really! Does this surprise anybody?

[cloudbase]

36. Would that make FOX

an unindicted co-conspirator?

[Forrestted]

37. Another Fox Drone Who Watches Hannity

[sarcasmo]

38. The Mosque to lawyer up against Fox news.

[sakabatou]

43. Let's see... alchohol + Fox "News" = hate crime.

Sounds right.

[DFW]

44. " I only know what I hear on Fox News"

And there's the problem.

If you watch Fox and actually believe what you hear, you don't KNOW anything.


It's like watching Mighty Mouse and actually believing a talking flying rodent is really
coming to save the day--and on just about the same intellectual level.

[aandegoons]

45. Fox news should be required to have a warning label.

Any other dangerous product would need one.

[Reio88]

46. Fox news does more damage

Fox so called news does more damage in more ways than the mass murderer gunmen. instead of a gun commission we need a boycott commission. Never has hate, fear and violence been so instigated by a group since the start of the kkk or neo-nazi. Only dis-informational hate mongers watch Fox to gain approval for their prejudice views of vengeful anger.

[BlueJazz]

47. Sentence is totally ridiculous. I've seen people get 1/3 the time for things that...

...were WAY more serious.

[rivera]

49. Spam deleted by OKNancy (MIR Team)

[SCVDem]

52. It's already 12/21 in Australia, etc.

We're still here, I think.

[Odin2005]

54. Stochastic Terrorism.