They killed journalists. That's cowardly and evil.

A New Yorker profile ofCharlie Hebdo in 2012 featured this quote, which Charb delivered to the French newspaper Le Monde about his magazine's controversies and the corresponding threats of violence.  

I don’t feel as though I’m killing someone with a pen. I’m not putting lives at risk. When activists need a pretext to justify their violence, they always find it.

While many details are still unclear about Wednesday's attack, the magazine issued this tweet shortly before the shooting: a cartoon featuring Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi saying in French, "To your health." The tweet itself translates as, "Best wishes, by the way."

@Charlie_Hebdo_

Meilleurs vœux, au fait.

5:28 AM - 7 Jan 2015

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/charlie-hebdo-satire-magazine-attacked-12-dead-gunman-france-hollande/384281/

Last month Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned that France was facing an “unprecedented” threat from terrorism. At the time it seemed a bit of an overstatement in a country that has sadly known its share of terror over the years. Judging by the fact that the perpetrators were able to carry out such a well-executed attack in a major European city, escape the scene, and reportedly did it speaking perfect French, he may have been right.

Read more of Slate’s coverage of the Charlie Hebdo attack.