The American Freedom Defense Initiative hosted a contest in May 2015 that would award $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. For most Muslims, any depiction of Muhammad, even if positive, is regarded as an insult to Islam.

Two gunmen opened fire on the event. Both were killed. After the event, Pamela Geller, the founder of the initiative, sought ad space with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for the winning cartoon. She had previously paid for controversial ads in the New York subway that read: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.” In smaller letters, it added: “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”