Justice prevails over Islamic supremacist intimidation and thuggery. An update on this story. “Jury: Muslim students guilty of disrupting speech,” by Amy Taxin for the Associated Press, September 23 (thanks to David):
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) “” Jurors found 10 Muslim students guilty Friday of disrupting a lecture by the Israeli ambassador at a California university in a case that stoked a spirited debate about free speech.
Jurors delivered the verdicts in Orange County Superior Court in the case involving a speech by Ambassador Michael Oren in February 2010 at the University of California, Irvine.
The students were also convicted of conspiring to disrupt Oren’s speech.
They were charged with misdemeanor counts after standing up, one by one, and shouting prepared statements at Oren such as “propagating murder is not an expression of free speech.”
About 150 people, including relatives and supporters of the students and Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, attended the verdict. Some community members gasped and started crying when the verdict was read and about a dozen of them walked out.
The students showed little reaction but later huddled with their attorneys and shared hugs with family and friends.
Of course the victim card was duly played:
Shakeel Syed of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California said he was shocked.
“This is yet another reaffirmation that Islamophobia is intensely and extensively alive and thriving in Orange County,” he said. “I believe this will be used as precedent now to suppress speech and dissent throughout the country. This is the beginning of the death of democracy.”…
No, Syed, the actions of the students were an attempt to suppress speech and dissent. As you no doubt know full well.