SUV Rampager Taheriazar Sounds Off In Court

Hot Air has the video, but Mohammed Taheriazar had an outburst in court that kept the court personnel on their toes:

Monday he was in court to discuss letters he wrote to Eyewitness News and other news organizations from prison shortly after the attack. In those letters he admitted to driving his vehicle into "The Pit" at UNC to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world.

During today's hearing, Taheri-azar yelled "death to America" as he entered the Orange County courtroom. "I hate all Americans," he said. "All Jews. May they all burn in hell. Death to Israel," yelled Taheri-azar.

The judge warned Taheri-azar to be quiet during the proceedings. That's when Taheri-azar turned to his own lawyer and said, "I don't know this moron."

That's when the judge order the already restrained Taheri-azar removed from the courtroom.

James Williams, Taheri-azar's lawyer reacted to his outburst. "He does have a severe mental illness and that mentall illness affects his actions and I believe affected his actions on the day in question and still affects his behavior and was affecting his behavior in court today," Williams said.

Taheri-azar pleaded not guilty in January to 19 counts attempted murder and assault charges. He is currently being held at Central Prison in Raleigh on a $5.5 million bond.

His lawyers are going to claim that it was a mental illness that drove Taheriazar to take his rented SUV and rampage through the UNC Chapel Hill campus hitting nine people outside the campus center.

Today's outburst reflects earlier statements that suggest he was engaging in his form of jihad - not the personal struggle variety.

In the meantime, he's been confined to a Dorothea Dix Hospital for a mental health evaluation. Hmmm, jihad as a mental illness? That would certainly be a curious prognosis.