Obama administration censors out Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from Omar Mateen’s 911 call
An update here as the official information has since been released as the critics were loud in objection to the Obama administration, Department of Justice releasing the 911 call made by Orlando Muslim terrorist Omar Mateen, censoring out key facts: his loyalty to Islamic State and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Public domain image/Piotr VaGla Waglowski, http://www.vagla.pl
Now the DOJ and FBI have now released the full transcript of Mateen’s 911 call, which includes his naming the Islamic State and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In a joint statement, the agencies said they had withheld the names because they “did not want to provide the killer or terrorist organizations with a publicity platform for hateful propaganda” but decided to do so after the issue had become a “distraction” to the investigation.
“What we’re not going to do is further proclaim this man’s pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups and further his propaganda,” AG Loretta Lynch told Chuck Todd ahead of the release.
House Speaker Paul Ryan called the editing of the transcripts “preposterous.”
“We know the shooter was a radical Islamist extremist inspired by ISIS. We also know he intentionally targeted the LGBT community. The administration should release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why,” Ryan’s statement read.
South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan tweeted a redacted paragraph from the Constitution to make a similar point:
Editing the 911 call is a disgustingly arrogant move from a tone deaf White House. What are they going to edit next?pic.twitter.com/TjfstyF3X4
— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) June 20, 2016
Lynch also said Sunday the FBI limited the transcript “to avoid re-victimizing those people that went through this horror.”
“But it will contain the substance of his conversations,” she said on CNN’s State of the Union ahead of the release.
Omar Mateen was tracked by the FBI, told by Disney he was “casing” the property and aligns with Islamic State
Transcript of Orlando Police Department 911 Calls, June 12, 2016
2:35 a.m.: Shooter contacted a 911 operator from inside Pulse. The call lasted approximately 50 seconds, the details of which are set out below:
(OD) Orlando Police Dispatcher
(OM) Omar Mateen
OD: Emergency 911, this is being recorded.
OM: In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficent [Arabic]
OD: What?
OM: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [Arabic]. I wanna let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.
OD: What’s your name?
OM: My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.
OD: Ok, What’s your name?
OM: I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may God protect him [Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State.
OD: Alright, where are you at?
OM: In Orlando.
OD: Where in Orlando?
[End of call.]
photo/Islamic State flag
