Egypt issues arrest warrants for 8 connected to controversial film. Liberals agree

If convicted, the eight could face the death penalty.  The LA Times has the details:

Egypt’s prosecutor general referred seven Egyptians Christians living in the United States and Florida-based Pastor Terry Jones to court for trial on charges that they offended Islam in connection with an anti-Muslim film that has triggered protests around the globe.

The seven Egyptians -- identified by state media as Morris Sadek, Morkos Aziz Khalil, Fekry Abdelmessieh, Nabil Adib Bassida, Nahed Metwally, Nader Farid Nicola and Elia Bassily, who is also known as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula -- were also accused of insulting the prophet Muhammad, inciting sectarian strife in Egypt and threatening the country's independence and peace, according to a state-run news agency.

The prosecutor general requested that the eight defendants be arrested by Interpol and handed over to Egyptian authorities. .…

Authorities issued arrest warrants against all defendants. No trial date was announced. The charges could result in a death sentence. [Emph. added]

Calls for prosecuting the filmmakers also come from American "liberals."   Take, for example, Bill Press, a former chair of the California Democrat Party and current talk show host, who said (h/t Ace):

What, if anything, should happen to the people who made this video? I gotta tell you, I think they are as guilty, that's my opinion, I think they are as guilty as the terrorists who carried out those attacks against our embassy in Libya.…

But these, I hate to call them Christians, these so-called Christians had to know that that video would result in certain parts of the world, it would result in violence, it would result in lives being lost. I think, again, they are every bit as guilty and I think the United States, this is not freedom of speech. It's just the old thing, you can't cry fire in a crowded theater and have people trampled to death and say, oh, I was just exercising my freedom of speech. This is an abuse of the First Amendment. It's using, abusing their freedom of speech to cost innocent lives and to cause the taking of innocent lives in certain parts of the world. So, I think the United States ought to identify, yeah, we oughta be going after these terrorists that carried out the attacks in Libya and we are. I think we also ought to be identifying the people who made this video and go after them with the full force of the law and lock their ass up.

Bill Press' reasoning about the film falling under the yelling-fire-in-a-theater exception to the 1st amendment is not to be taken seriously.  Mr. Press would understand that instantly if instead some group was trying to use violence to suppress Mr. Press's free speech.

It is frightening how quickly liberals are willing to abandon basic human rights, such as free speech, when they find those rights momentarily inconvenient.

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