Rep. Andre Carson has made the startling statement that I am guilty of hate speech, and have put his family and congressional staff in danger. Why? Because I have been talking and writing about already published news stories in the Washington Post, FOX 59, The Daily Caller and others that are exposing Carson’s relationship with anti-Semite and bigot Louis Farrakhan.

In an interview with Indy Star Opinion Editor Tim Swarens:

In a flash of anger, the congressman reserved his strongest comments during our interview for WIBC talk show host Tony Katz, who’s been sharply critical of Carson recently for refusing to denounce Farrakhan.

“I think what Tony Katz is doing on WIBC is hate speech,” Carson said. “He’s putting my life and my children’s lives in jeopardy. He’s jeopardizing the lives of staff members in my office.”

Let’s take a step back to what I have said, and what I have written. In 2015, I spoke with PJ Media’s Patrick Poole about Carson’s attendance at a Muslim American Society convention. At the convention, he was scheduled to appear on a panel about Ferguson, MO, with Mazen Mokhtar. In 2004, the Washington Post wrote about Mokhtar who was known to the FBI as a Taliban fundraiser. Carson did not attend the panel and claimed that his name was placed on the program in error.

I’ve discussed Rep. Carson’s bad judgment with Tim Mak of The Daily Beast in 2015, saying, “I question his intelligence for showing up to [the Muslim American Society panel] event. I question whether someone like that should be attending the House Intelligence Committee.”

In August 2017, I wrote that Rep. Carson’s demand that the White House get rid of the “white supremacists” is a witch hunt:

Congressman André Carson wants the White House to get rid of the white supremacists. Well, why don’t you just ask ‘are you now or have you ever been a communist?’ Because how else are you going to determine who the white supremacists are?

Carson was co-sponsoring legislation, signed by over 30 members of Congress, calling for President Donald Trump to “strongly condemn white nationalists, the Ku Klux Klan, and other hate groups that make up the ‘alt-right.'”

Over the past month, I have written about Carson’s connection to anti-Semite and bigot Louis Farrakhan. I have written about a report that he attended a dinner with Farrakhan and Iranian President and terrorist financier Hassan Rouhani. (Carson denies attending the dinner, and — again! — claimed that his attendance was written down in error.)

In multiple interviews, Carson has refused to repudiate Farrakhan for his bigoted statements. Rather, Carson has pivoted to false equivalency, turning the conversation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In TV interviews, Carson complained of Israel’s policy on African migrants. In his interview with the Indy Star, Carson pivoted to Netanyahu and President Trump:

During our interview, Carson defended his decision to sit down with Farrakhan by citing meetings he’s had with two other controversial leaders: President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“A lot of my Arab friends were extremely critical of me” for meeting with Netanyahu, but Carson said he seized the opportunity to press the prime minister for better treatment of Ethiopian Jews in Israel.

In none of these stories am I part of the original reporting. It has come from accepted news outlets, not fringe sources of reporting. All I did was connect the dots, and share how bad Carson’s judgment really is.

Now, back to Carson’s attack on me.

First, Rep. Carson’s statement that what I’m doing is “hate speech” would be laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous. He has not claimed that the Washington Post or FOX 59 are guilty of such a thing, so why am I? Of course, the facts prove this statement untrue.

Second, what is he talking about regarding his family? It’s mind-boggling that he would claim that sharing already reported stories from verified sources — including quoting his very own words, and the words of Farrakhan — would put his family and staff in jeopardy. This is also untrue.

So why would he say it? Why would Rep. Carson accuse me of hate speech, and recklessly claim that I placed his family in jeopardy?

As I stated on air, I didn’t put his family in jeopardy. He put my family in jeopardy:

A partial transcript:

This statement has you (Rep. Carson) putting my family in jeopardy. This is the dog bullhorn to, “Hey! Look at what this guy is saying about me! I wonder if this upsets any of my supporters!”

This was planned. This was an organized series of thoughts for a purpose, and I want you to know I take it seriously. I made two phone calls today. I made one to my wife, who I never talk about on air. I keep my family very private. I made a call to her, to let her know this article was out there. And then I made a call to a local security company that is coming to the house today.

Andre Carson’s family was never in jeopardy. Commentary about a congressman is part of the game. Rep. Andre Carson used this falsehood, this flat out lie about his family, to gin up his supporters…making it hyper-personal. He did it for a reason. This is not a dog whistle, this is a dog bullhorn. This is putting my family in jeopardy, and I am acting accordingly.

Understand also that I am not leaving. You can’t run me out of anywhere. Maybe that’s your dream, I don’t know. But you took this, Rep. Carson, to a whole new level.

Yet, we’re still not getting to the crux of the issue. It’s not about me, it’s about your association with a bigot and an anti-Semite named Louis Farrakhan! This is about you trying to deflect from the fact that you have a relationship with Louis Farrakhan, and you will not denounce him!

Facts are not hate speech. They are facts. Louis Farrakhan is a bigot and an anti-Semite. Andre Carson lies through his teeth saying I’m putting his family in danger, when in doing so he puts my family in danger by whipping up supporters who may want to do something about it.

These are the facts. Andre Carson is not good enough for Indianapolis. And Indianapolis has to vote him out of office, immediately.

Originally posted on WIBC.com.