Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, the most prominent anti-abortion activist in the country, appeared at the National Press Club today to defend his statement that slain Kansas physician Dr. George Tiller got what he deserved. People For the American Way was there with a camera.

Terry stunned his press club audience when he tried to deflect blame for the killing, which he referred to as a “setback for us on some levels”:

Terry: The point that must be emphasized over, and over, and over again: pro-life leaders and the pro-life movement are not responsible for George Tiller's death. George Tiller was a mass-murder and, horrifically, he reaped what he sowed.

Q: So who is responsible ... Terry: The man who shot him is responsible ...

Q: "... because that makes it sound like you were saying that he [Tiller] is responsible. Terry: The man who shot him is responsible.

Q: What did you mean by "he reaped what he sowed"?

Terry: He was a mass-murder. He sowed death. And then he reaped death in a horrifying way.

But here’s perhaps the most telling, and twisted, part of the whole spectacle. Terry, after referring to Tiller’s murder as a “teaching moment for what child-killing is really all about” and wrapping up the press conference, basically asked the crowd if someone wanted to buy him lunch:

Thank you for coming, unless there’s any other questions. [Off-Camera] And I truly am sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances. I like Guinness for those of you who want to have a beer somewhere. I prefer my chicken wings really hot and a little crispy.