Fox Links Innocent Man to Orlando Attacker, He’s Now Facing Death Threats

Following the tragic mass shooting, Fox News reported that the shooter, Omar Mateen, had been radicalized by local imam Marcus Dwayne Robertson, also known as Abu Taubah. They cited “anonymous officials” who claimed that the imam and other associates had been “rounded up” in connection with the attack.

Robertson, 47, runs an online Islamic seminary with approximately 100 students, and Fox News claimed that “a law enforcement source familiar with Robertson’s history of recruiting terrorists and inciting violence,” had revealed that Mateen was a student.

The story gained wide circulation across the internet, even though it wasn’t accurate. Robertson says he was never questioned, and that Mateen was never one of his students.

“On Sunday afternoon, I started seeing all these news reports claiming I’d been rounded up in connection with the shooting of 50 people. I read this and thought it was crazy and started to panic,” Robertson told the Intercept. “I thought maybe they were coming after me, so I contacted my attorney and other legal representatives who got in touch with the FBI who confirmed that these reports implicating me weren’t true.”“We checked all our financial and administrative records and we had no connection to this individual,” he said.

Last year, Robertson was acquitted in a tax case that included allegations of tax fraud in connection with an effort to fund terrorism.

The Intercept confirmed that the judge had thrown the case out, calling it “woefully inadequate,” stating that the government had “not even come close to proving [Robertson’s] minor income tax fraud was intended to promote a federal crime of terrorism.”

Still, Fox News reported the dismissed claims, saying Robertson had instructed a follower to file a false tax return in order to obtain a refund to use on terror training.

Following the story, Robertson claims he has been inundated with hate mail and death threats, and is desperately trying to clear his name.

“I live in the community where this crime happened, and now me and my family are being looked at by people as though we had a hand in taking away their loved ones,” Robertson told The Intercept. “Before they even knew the facts, some members of the media decided to start pushing their own narrative, in order to build this mentality that is trying to foment hatred and blame us for these terrible acts.”

“In an effort to get people all riled up,” he said, “they’ve put our lives in danger.”

The story, published shortly after the shooting, has not been retracted or corrected by the news organization.