Pundit for MSNBC, CNN Arrested for Defacing Truthful Muslim Poster

Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian-American columnist who frequently appears on CNN and MSNBC, was arrested for defacing an anti-Muslim ad in the New York subway system, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

According to the Post, Eltahawy, who describes herself as a “liberal Muslim,” sprayed pink paint on a sign that calls enemies of Israel “savages.”

While others watched her deface the sign, Pamela Hall, identified by the Post as “a Manhattan mom who supports the message of the ads,” rushed to stop Eltahawy.

“Do you have a right to do this?” Hall asked.

“I do actually,” Eltahawy said. “I think this is freedom of expression, just as this [the ad] is freedom of expression.”
MSNBC contributor Mona Eltahawy vandalizes poster in New York subway
Video: MSNBC contributor Mona Eltahawy vandalizes poster in New York subway

“Hall tried to physically block Eltahawy, bobbing back and forth like a basketball forward while the angered activist shot bursts of paint around her,” the Post reported, noting that Hall is “an ally of Pamela Geller, leader of a pro-Israel group behind the posters.”

The two struggled, with Hall poking Eltahawy with a video camera stick. Eltahawy responded with profanity and “seemed stunned when an NYPD officer and an MTA cop arrived momentarily after and put cuffs on her.”

“This is what happens when you nonviolently protest in America!” she screamed.

“That’s true,” an onlooker responded, prompting laughter.

According to the Post, Eltahawy was “charged with criminal mischief, making graffiti and possession of a graffiti instrument, and held overnight.”

According to Newsbusters’ Tim Graham, Eltahawy frequently discusses Egypt on CNN and MSNBC and “often smears together the Islamist ‘right wing’ and the American right wing.”

Twitchy reported that Eltahawy had “given notice” of her plan to deface the posters on Twitter.

“My pink spray paint will match my pink raincoat but my Gaddafi-green fascist dress reveals my true intentions,” she tweeted.

Eltahawy issued several tweets, Twitchy noted, calling Gellar and her supporters “racist and bigoted s**ts.”

“I believe in the right to offend & the right to protest that offense peacefully. And I will call you a racist & bigoted s**t as I protest,” she added.

“Just before going on the Times Square mission, Eltahawy tweeted: ‘Meetings done; pink spray paint time. #ProudSavage,’” the Post reported, leaving out the profane “#F**kHate” hashtag Eltahawy used.

After her release from jail, Eltahawy “tweeted that she stands by her actions, saying that she ‘proudly’ awaits her November court date and has ‘absolutely no regrets,’” Twitchy added.

According to Twitchy, Eltahawy’s actions caught the interest of Arabic TV and the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Eltahawy’s arrest drew the attention of Arabic TV and spawned the #freemona hashtag, which was even tweeted by @IkhwanWeb, the verified Twitter account for the Muslim Brotherhood’s English language website,” the Twitchy staff said.

The poster, one of ten placed in the subway system on Monday, was sponsored by the American Freedom Defense Initiative and blogger Pamela Geller, reads, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” In July, a federal judge ruled that the posters are protected speech after the Metropolitan Transit Authority sought to block them.

According to the Post, signs in “seven of the 10 stations where the ads have been posted were defaced.”

“Incidentally,” Graham wrote, “this incident is actually the third time in less than a month that a person affiliated with MSNBC has had a run-in with conservatives.”

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