Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is drawing fire for comments he made on Friday suggesting American Muslims don’t cooperate with authorities.
In response to news that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had released a report warning of rightwing radicalism, King told MSNBC that DHS “has never put out a report talking about look out for mosques. Look out for Islamic terrorists in our country. Look out for the fact that very few Muslims come forward to cooperate with the police.”
King, who is considering a Senate campaign in 2010, defended his comments over the weekend.
“The fact is, the Muslim community does not cooperate with law enforcement,” King told Newsday.
This isn’t the first time King has made controversial remarks about Muslims. In 2007, King landed in hot water for saying there were “”too many mosques in this country.”