Last night, Bill O’Reilly took issue with a recent San Francisco Chronicle article that pointed out that O’Reilly had referred to the late Dr. George Tiller as ‘Dr. Killer.’ “Transcripts prove what reporter Joe wrote was false,” O’Reilly said. In fact, O’Reilly did refer to Tiller as ‘Dr. Killer’ on June 2.

O’REILLY: In order to terminate a life, that has to be catastrophic. And I think it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, in Dr. Killer’s case, that wasn’t what he was doing. But Ms. Ireland, we appreciate you coming him on.

IRELAND: You call him Dr. Killer, and he was murdered. And I think that that is…just outrageous.

Watch a compilation:

While his June 2 remark appears to have been inadvertent, O’Reilly often referred to Tiller as “Tiller the baby killer” prior to his murder.

This past weekend, abortion providers from across the country gathered in Wichita, Kan. to attend the funeral the of Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered last month. On the same weekend, the man accused of murdering Tiller told the AP that “similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal”:

Scott Roeder called The Associated Press from the Sedgwick County jail, where he’s being held on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller one week ago.

“I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal,” Roeder said. When asked by the AP what he meant and if he was referring to another shooting, he refused to elaborate further.

It wasn’t clear whether Roeder knew of any impending violence or whether he was simply seeking publicity for his cause. Law enforcement authorities including the Justice Department said they didn’t know whether the threat was credible.

The Justice Department told the AP that Roeder’s “threat was being taken seriously and additional protection had been ordered for abortion clinics.” Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder dispatched U.S. Marshalls to protect “appropriate people and facilities around the nation” in the wake of Tiller’s murder.

As Salon’s Gabriel Winant has documented, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly regularly demonized Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered on Sunday, as “Tiller the Baby Killer.” But as ThinkProgress noted yesterday, O’Reilly is not “backpedaling” from his incendiary attacks on Tiller. In fact, while debating former National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland last night, O’Reilly referred to Tiller as “Dr. Killer” without realizing it. “You call him Dr. Killer and he was murdered,” replied Ireland, adding “that that is just outrageous.” Watch it:

Transcript: Read more

Yesterday, “[a] 23-year-old man upset about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan opened fire from his truck at two soldiers standing outside a military recruiting station here on Monday morning, killing one private and wounding another.” In response, conservative talker Laura Ingraham suggested that websites and news outlets that have been critical of the war in Iraq were responsible for the obviously horrible attack. Her guest Bill O’Reilly seemed to agree with her tongue-in-cheek reasoning:

INGRAHAM: Are we now going to look at the websites that he frequented to see if he was on some of the crazy left-wing anti-war websites, Win Without War, George Soros-funded websites, DailyKos, all the crazies. … The way they are reporting on the George Tiller murder, all of talk radio was responsible for that. … Did he frequent MSNBC, did he like to watch it? [...]

O’REILLY: Since they have been unrelenting in describing their country as a torture nation, I’m sure that set this muslim guy off to kill one and wound another of our military and I’m sure that’s NBC’s fault. Look, the absurdity of this is beyond the pale.

Listen to a compilation here:

These commentators weren’t criticizing O’Reilly and groups like Operation Rescue simply because they are opposed to abortion. Many right-wing activists used words like “murderer” and “killer” when they criticized Tiller’s abortion practices. O’Reilly, in particular, sent his producers to ambush Tiller and said that anyone who didn’t “stop” Tiller would have “blood on their hands.”

As ThinkProgress has noted, soon after new broke about the murder of Dr. George Tiller, Salon’s Gabriel Winant and The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan quickly pointed out that Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly had demonized Tiller for years with harsh, aggressive rhetoric. On his show last night, O’Reilly briefly said that “Americans should condemn the murder of Dr. George Tiller” before launching into an extended defense of his demonization of Tiller. “No backpedaling here,” said O’Reilly. Watch it:

In his Media Notes column today, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz writes that “O’Reilly is entitled to defend himself,” but adds that he is “surprised that, along with his reminder that Tiller had been called a baby killer, O’Reilly didn’t issue a ringing denunciation of the shooting and anyone who thought it was justified. The occasion, in my view, called for it; he chose a different approach.”

Yesterday, 51-year-old man named Scott Roeder gunned down George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, as he stood in the foyer of his church. As PFAW noted, Tiller had “long been the most prominent target of anti-abortion activists in this country due to the fact that he was one of the few physicians in the country willing to perform ‘late-term’ abortions.”

Shortly after news broke of the killing, Troy Newman, President of the anti-choice group Operation Rescue, issued a statement condemning Roeder’s actions: “We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”

However, veteran anti-abortion activist Randall Terry — who founded Operation Rescue — issued a statement calling Tiller a “mass murderer,” adding that he was an “evil man” whose “hands were covered with blood.” “We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches,” he said.

Operation Rescue’s protests were often far from peaceful. Tiller had to be protected by federal marshals and his clinic was fortified by bulletproof glass and security guards. Operation Rescue’s 1991 protests drew “thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.”

Roeder, in fact, had been an active member of the Operation Rescue community and used the group as a platform for his vigilantism. (Authorities found a Post-It note with the group’s phone number in his car after the shooting.) This morning, Operation Rescue President Troy Newman issued a new statement, trying to distance his group even further from Roeder’s actions:

Scott Roeder has never been a member, contributor, or volunteer with Operation Rescue. Mr. Roeder may have posted to our open blog web site, as have thousands of members of the public, including those with pro-abortion views, but he is not affiliated with this organization. [...]

In spite of these horrific events, we remain dedicated to working through all peaceful and legal means available to bring an end to the killing of innocent children through abortion.

In May 2007, Operation Rescue organized a “77-hour round the clock prayer vigil” in Wichita, KS, Tiller’s hometown. “Let’s keep the pressure on George Tiller and the authorities until they are willing to bring him to justice!” read the announcement for the event. On May 19, Roeder commented on the thread, chillingly urging Operation Rescue members to take the fight inside Tiller’s church:

Bleass [sic] everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp. Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.

Hunter at DailyKos also caught a “Scott Roeder” commenting on another Operation Rescue site, Charge Tiller, which has since been taken down. On Sept. 3, 2007, Roeder stepped up the violence in his rhetoric, writing:

It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the “lawlessness” which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp “Mengele” of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement [sic] upon our nation.

As Mike Hendricks of the Kansas-City Star wrote yesterday, Operation Rescue couldn’t have been “shocked” by Tiller’s death. After all, it was that group that coined the name “Tiller the Killer” and “spent decades fomenting hate toward a man who simply believed that he was serving a purpose by being one of the few doctors in the country performing late-term abortions.” “His accomplices know they have blood on their hands, which might explain why they were quick to issue statements…expressing disapproval of Tiller’s murder,” added Hendricks.

Earlier today, George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, was murdered “as he stood in the foyer of his church.” Tiller, who frequently wore a bullet-proof vest for protection, was shot and killed by an assailant, purported to be a 51-year old man named Scott Roeder. The killing comes only two months after he was found not guilty of performing illegal late-term abortions. People For The American Way’s right-wing watch blog notes that “those who had long targeted and demonized Tiller were quick to issue statements,” including this one by Randall Terry which essentially blamed Tiller for his own murder:

George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder.

Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.

Some pro-life groups have been quick to denounce the murder. Attorney General Eric Holder said “the murder of Doctor George Tiller is an abhorrent act of violence. … As a precautionary measure, we will also take appropriate steps to help prevent any related acts of violence from occurring.” And President Obama released a statement expressing his shock and outrage. “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence,” Obama said.