No Hate Crime?

The Muslim who murdered one woman and injured five others in a shooting in Seattle will not be charged under Federal hate-crime laws. Instead, he will face murder and attempted murder charges.

Witnesses reportedly heard Haq declare he was an American Muslim. Police have said Haq's statements indicate the shootings were a hate crime.

So the police say it, what's wrong then? Could it be something to do with this?

A law-enforcement source, who is a member of the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force and familiar with the investigation, said Haq was not a practicing Muslim.

No, no Muslims here- and just ignore what the suspect himself said when he identified himself as a Muslim American. Possibly he was just a little confused. Of course if a man identified himself as a Christian and then attacked members of another religion, you can be positive that he wouldn't face any hate crime charges- not if he didn't regularly go to church anyway. That makes all the difference doesn't it?

And all that stuff about the way he "then entered the premises and made several statements indicating anger at Jews." Nope, that can't be a hate crime either- he just said he was angry, not that he hated them, right?

I wonder what they would be charging a white man who went into a centre for black people, said he was angry with them and began shooting. Surely that wouldn't qualify as a hate crime if this doesn't?

UPDATE- Looks like this report was false- he has been charged under the hate-crime law.

Haq also is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder in the wounding Friday afternoon of five women at the federation's downtown offices; one count of first-degree kidnapping, involving a teenage girl who was briefly taken hostage; one count of first-degree burglary for allegedly entering a locked facility to commit a crime; and one count of malicious harassment under the state's hate-crime law.