A group that held an armed protest at a mosque in Irving, Texas last November is planning a second protest on December 12. The mosque, which is located in Richardson, Texas, was chosen because protest organizers say the mosque is tied to the U.S. based Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) – a group accused by many of being a “terrorist front group” for radical Islam and Jihad.
The Bureau of Islamic-American Relations (BIAR), which organized last month’s protest, was criticized for revealing the names and addresses of Muslims and others who opposed the city of Irving’s support of a Texas legislature bill to ban Sharia law from Texas courts.
BAIR founder David Wright III hosted the group of armed protesters who stood outside of the Irving mosque on November 21. Some protesters openly carried rifles with at least one person openly carrying a pistol, which is illegal in Texas until a new law allowing the practice goes into effect January 1.
Wright claimed that he was within his rights to publish the names and addresses of Muslims and supporters who spoke against the legislation at a March 19 city council meeting in Irving because they spoke on the record at a public government meeting.
Wright also shared his criteria for selecting which mosques to protest. In announcing the next protest at a Richardson, Texas mosque, Write said:
“We do not pick mosques at random.” The group claims the Richardson mosque has a “documented history” of taking in Syrian refugees and working with “terrorist front groups like CAIR.”
“They are Sunni Muslims that have taken over the entire neighborhood and even renamed streets after the Islamic culture.” “Do I need to say anymore?”
Wright drew attention to his actions – especially for releasing list of names and addresses of Muslim opponents to the legislation last week by writing that he was being attacked for exercising his civil rights in defense of his efforts.
And although Wright removed his comments over his decision to disclose the name and address information of his opponents from his Facebook page, The Washington Times posted his comments on their website and quoted below:
“I am being attacked and smeared by the liberal media for legally exercising my 1st and 2nd Amendment rights and for using public data to defend my credibility when they make accusations against me.”
“I guess they don’t like it when you prove them wrong publicly. If we had a hit list and wanted to run down that list, you would have already seen it on the news. We don’t operate that way!! We are self-defense only, none of our members have killed any Muslims in America!”
“The list I posted was proof that the Muslims in Irving want their own Islamic legal system, (Sharia) just as I told the reporters at the Mosque protest. This is what happens when you play favoritism as a journalist, you cause problems and stir up controversy by twisting a story, lying, and omitting facts to fit your narrative as a team player for one side or another.”
“I would have had no reason to produce this list in my own defense if you would have told the story honestly without bias or blatant favoritism. So to those on the list who feel betrayed or targeted don’t blame me or the Mayor of Irving, blame the media for playing games of favoritism instead of reporting the news!”
The Irving city council posts the names and addresses of all who speak at city council meetings on the city’s website because they are public records – which is where Wright found them.
