On Tuesday May 4, 1886, at the Haymarket Square in Chicago, a policeman was killed when a bomb was thrown during a labor protest. The identity of the bomb thrower was never discovered but five men who had organized the rally and spoke of the need for the protesters to defend themselves were tried and executed for stirring up the crowd.

Yesterday, Dr. George Tiller, a doctor who provided abortions, was murdered while attending church. Since 2005, O’Reilly mentioned Tiller on his program 29 times, calling him “Tiller the Baby Killer,” accusing him of “Nazi stuff,” and saying “This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union.” O’Reilly has said that Tiller is “a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida.” On June 12, 2007, O’Reilly said, “…if the state of Kansas doesn’t stop this man, then anybody who prevents that from happening has blood on their hands as the governor does right now, Governor Sebelius.” Obviously the man who murdered Dr. Tiller took O’Reilly very seriously.

Bill O’Reilly is at least as guilty as the men executed for the Haymarket riot. O’Reilly put Dr. Tiller in the public eye knowing full well that the anti-abortion movement is full of nuts who are willing to use violence to stop doctors. I am not saying that O’Reilly should be arrested, tried, and executed. But I am saying that he has blood on his hands and any network that lets him spout his views has blood on their hands as well. If he is not removed from the airwaves then the question is who is the next doctor O’Reilly will put a target on?