The time he built his own Oval Office
In the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, Glenn Beck was certain that a 20 year old Saudi Arabian who had been injured in the blast was in fact one of the conspirators. He had been checked out by police, the police cleared him of involvement, but that wasn't enough for Beck. I believe the logic went something like "
Hey look, everybody! A Musslim!"
“While the media continues to look at what the causes were [behind] these two guys, there are, at this hour, three people involved,” Beck said, alleging the U.S. government had “tagged” Alharbi as a “proven terrorist.” Over several broadcasts, Beck called Alharbi the “money man” behind the Boston bombings. “You know who the Saudi is?” Beck asked. “He’s the money man. He’s the guy who paid for it.”
If you're stumped as to where he came up with the theory, don't bother. Greater minds than yours or mine have attempted to divine what goes on in Glenn Beck's head, all to no effect; the core of the premise was that something-something Obama administration, therefore they covered up Alharbi's obvious involvement in order to trick us all and only genius crime and conspiracy detective Glenn Damn Beck could see through their plans.
But because even the crappiest members of the media, e.g. Glenn Beck, are still not allowed to randomly declare that certain people are terrorists due to their inherent supposed swarthiness, Glenn Beck got his conspiracy-peddling racist ass sued. His defense is the usual one, which is that sure he may have been absolutely wrong in his apparent attempt to gin up a lynch mob against a specific bombing victim, but getting injured in the bombing made Alharbi a "public figure" so Glenn Beck ought to get to say whatever he wants:
Alharbi sued Beck for defamation in federal court in late March. And now, in a batch of little-noticed motions, Beck has lashed back, saying Alharbi is trying to “punish” and impede Beck’s First Amendment rights. Beck argues the bombings made Alharbi a “limited purpose” and “involuntary” public figure who must prove not just that Beck made false accusations, but that Beck did it with “actual malice.”
It will be a neat trick, if Beck gets away with it. Alharbi became an "involuntary" public figure in large part because Glenn Beck insisted on making him one; once Glenn Beck made him one, you have to prove that Glenn Beck acted with
malice when he supposed that the English student was a "proven terrorist" and the "money man" behind the horrific act.
Malice? Glenn Beck? Heaven forfend.