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CNN, Esquire blame the 'right wing' for Boston Marathon bombing

The Boston Marathon bombing
The Boston Marathon bombing
Getty Images

In the early hours after the Boston Marathon was attacked with multiple bomb blasts, both CNN and Esquire Magazine indulged in speculation that right wing extremists may be responsible for the attacks. In one instance, Esquire Magazine's Charles P. Pierce attempted to link the bombings to right wing extremists similar to Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber. In another, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen speculated that the type of bomb device could link it to right wing extremist groups.

Esquire's Charles P. Pierce wrote in an online post on the magazine's website that we should not jump to conclusions and blame foreign terrorists, then blames it on right-wing domestic terrorists. He stated "remember that this is the official Patriots Day holiday in Massachusetts, celebrating the Battles at Lexington and Concord, and that the actual date (April 19) was of some significance to, among other people, Tim McVeigh, because he fancied himself a waterer of the tree of liberty and the like."

CNN's Peter Bergen stated that the bomb type could point to right-wing domestic terrorists as well. "If it was more conventional explosives, which are much harder to get a hold of now, that might be some other kind of right-wing extremists....We've also seen other extremist groups attacking, right-wing groups, for instance trying to attack the Martin Luther King parade in Oregon in 2010."

Most media outlets have learned to refrain from wild speculation in the early hours of breaking stories of this type, in order to unfairly blame one person or group.

Victor Medina writes for Yahoo News and his political blog WhenLiberalsAttack.com. His other writing credits include The Dallas Morning News and SportsIllustrated.com. He has served as a Dallas County election judge and on the Board of Directors of The Sixth Floor Museum. You can follow him on his blog, VictorMedina.com or on Twitter at @mrvictormedina. He can be reached by email at vic@victormedina.com. Click here to receive a weekly email update from WhenLiberalsAttack.com. To be notified of future stories by Victor Medina, click the SIGN UP or SUBSCRIBE button at the top of this page.

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