Group behind SEPTA ads hosted Texas event where shooting occurred

The group that hosted the provocative cartoon contest where two gunmen were slain after opening fire on a security guard was also behind the controversial anti-Islam advertisements displayed on SEPTA buses this spring.

The American Freedom Defensive Initiative both sponsored the contest, which offered a $10,000 prize for the best depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, and paid for the SEPTA ads, which read "Islamic Jew-hatred: It's in the Quran."

The organization, led by Jewish activist Pamela Geller, was hosting the Garland, Texas, cartoon contest where the shooting occurred Sunday.

City officials said two men drove up to the center where the contest was being held as the event was ending and began shooting at a security guard. Police returned fire, fatally shooting both gunmen.

It wasn't immediately known if the outburst of violence was related to the contest. Some Muslims consider any images of the Prophet Muhammad blasphemous.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative has been in the news a number of times in recent years for controversies surrounding its anti-Islam messages.

One of those disputes took place in Philadelphia, where the group sought for months to run the ads, which also showed a photo of Adolf Hitler and Palestinian Arab nationalist Haj Amin al-Husseini (who made radio broadcasts supporting the Nazis), and demanded "End all aid to Islamic countries."

SEPTA rejected the ads, but was ultimately forced to display them after a federal court ruling in March.

The SEPTA ads appeared on 84 buses this spring after the judge's ruling. The ads started coming down Friday as the group's monthlong contract ended, and nearly all were expected to be removed by Monday.