The FBI on Monday defended its decision not to include references to the Islamic State in the transcript of Omar Mateen’s phone call with authorities last week, when he shot up an gay nightclub in Orlando and killed 49 people and injured 53.
“Part of the redacting is meant to not give credence to individuals who have done terrorists acts in the past,” said Ronald Hopper, assistant special agent in charge of the investigation. “We’re not going to propagate their rhetoric, their violent rhetoric, and we see no value in putting those individuals’ names back out there.”
“We’re trying to prevent future acts from happening again, and for cowards like this one, people like that influence them, so we’re not going to continue to put their names out front.”
The transcripts provided by the FBI show Mateen saying “praise to to God,” and saying he acted “in the name of God the merciful.” But it redacted any reference to Allah that he might have made, and doesn’t say to whom he is pledging allegiance.
A key Republican, House Speaker Paul Ryan, said it is “preposterous” that the FBI would send out redacted transcripts.
