The daughter of the man who allegedly flew a plane into an IRS building in Austin, killing one person and injuring a dozen others, says her father is a hero because he stood up to the system.
“I think too many people lay around and wait for things to happen. But if nobody comes out and speaks up on behalf of injustice, then nothing will ever be accomplished,” Samantha Bell told Good Morning America.
But Bell also called her father Joe Stack’s alleged attack in Austin Friday “wrong” and “inappropriate,” saying that “freedom of speech” would have been a more effective. Bell, 38, lives in Norway.
She believes the reason Stack allegedly set his house on fire the morning of the attack is that “We pay taxes on our home as well. My belief is that the house was part of the government. And I think he wanted to get rid of what was left.”
“He stood up to the system,” she added.
In the days following the Friday attack, several Facebook groups popped up in support of Stack.
Here’s the Good Morning America report:
Late Update: Bell has called Good Morning America to retract her earlier statements.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody,” she told ABC. “We are mourning for Vernon Hunter,” referring to the IRS investigator killed in the attack.