Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos says he was trolling members of the media when he said he couldn’t wait for “vigilante squads” to attack journalists.
In separate statements given to the Observer and the Daily Beast, Yiannopoulos said on Tuesday: “I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight.”
The comment gained significant attention on Twitter and the controversial figure told the Washington Examiner that his remarks were a “troll” rather than a serious call to action and the outrage was “very silly hysterics.”
Yiannopoulos is now apparently advocating “for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight,” and sending anti-Semitic messages to Jewish journalists. https://t.co/y4rEsV8WdP
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) June 26, 2018
Honest question: How is this foreign national allowed to stay in the United States pic.twitter.com/ttMfkF9KLv
— Joe Bernstein (@Bernstein) June 26, 2018
Milo needs to be condemned. Anyone calling for journalists to be capped is dangerous and un-American. I’m not exactly a fan of the media because it’s far too liberal, but I don’t wish them harm
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 26, 2018
“Of *course* it was a troll. I’ve spent my entire career calling out people who use violence as a response to differing opinions,” he said in an email. “Nothing saddens me more. If journalists do start getting attacked, it will be thanks to disingenuous nonsense like this story.”
Yiannopoulos, who is known largely for his controversial and alt-right rhetoric, has been accused of provoking violent, anti-Semitic, and racist crowds in the past. He previously worked for Breitbart but resigned after a wave of backlash following comments which appeared to endorse pedophilia. He has since been isolated from most conservative and right-wing circles.
