Pamela Geller: Freedom of Speech Was Targeted Last Night (Video)

Pamela Geller, one of the organizers behind the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest that was attacked in Garland, Texas, last night, says that she doesn’t believe that she and the other anti-Jihad activists at the event were specifically targeted by the gunmen. On Fox and Friends this morning, she declared that “freedom of speech — our unalienable right was targeted. This is the war, this is the war – and it’s here in America, now.”

The two gunmen, who were shot dead by a traffic officer at the scene, were from Phoenix, Arizona.

One of the suspects has been identified as Elton Simpson, 30, according to ABC News. He was convicted in a terror investigation five years ago, but was given probation.

The ABC report says Simpson was accused of lying to federal agents about plans to travel to Africa, in an apparent attempt to join a terror group there.

Simpson is believed to be the man who tweeted several ominous messages before the incident Sunday, using the hashtag #texasattack.

One officer was shot, but suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

“Kudos to the Garland Police Department,” Geller said on Fox and Friends. She noted that the organizers “had to pay an additional $10,000 to the Garland Police Department, and we had our own private security force. This speaks to the low state of freedom of speech in this country that in order to have a conference of freedom of speech, you have to spend upwards of $50,000.”

Steve Doocy asked Geller what she thought of reports that the gunmen had possible connections to ISIS. “A known ISIS fighter tweeted out, ‘this shooting was carried out by two pro-ISIS individuals,’ and another ISIS supporter claimed on Twitter, ‘one gunman called himself, sharia is life.'”

Geller replied dryly, “I’m sure the president will take to the airways to assure us that the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam, but the fact of the matter is that this is the sharia. This is the blasphemy laws under the sharia and they mean to impose it.”

She called the anti-Mohammed YouTube video-maker who was arrested in the wake of the Benghazi attack on 9/11/2012, “the first political prisoner under the sharia in this country.” She added, “people better wake up to what’s going on, and start taking back their freedom — start fighting back.”

She vowed to hold similar events throughout the country. “We will not abridge our freedom of speech in order to not offend savages.”