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Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke had a fiery response to the mass shooting which took place in his hometown of El Paso, Texas on Saturday, August 3. The shooting left 20 dead and dozens more injured after a 21-year-old gunman with a hateful manifesto open-fired at a local Walmart.
The former United States Representative was asked about the shooting and whether President Donald Trump shared some blame because of his hateful rhetoric against immigrants and Hispanic people which was echoed by the shooter in his manifesto.
When it came time for O’Rourke to respond, he unleashed on the media with very direct criticism.
“What do you think? You know the sh*t he’s been saying. He’s been calling Mexican immigrants racists and criminals. I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the f*ck? Hold on a second. You know I, it’s these questions that you know the answer to. I mean, connect the dots about what he’s been doing in this country. He’s not tolerating racism, he’s promoting racism. He’s not tolerating violence, he’s inciting racism and violence in this country,” O’Rourke responded.
“So, you know, I just, I don’t know what kind of question that is.”
Following the shooting, it was revealed that Patrick Crucius was responsible for a troubling manifesto that circulated online. The manifesto — which was titled “The Inconvenient Truth” — makes references to Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant and shows a heavy disdain for Hispanic immigrants. It is currently being investigated by the FBI.
“In general, I support the Christchurch shooter and his manifesto. This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion. Some people will think this statement is hypocritical because of the nearly complete ethnic and cultural destruction brought to the Native Americans by our European ancestors, but this just reinforces my point,” the alleged manifesto begins.
It continues, “Even if other non-immigrant targets would have a greater impact, I can’t bring myself to kill my fellow Americans. My ideology has not changed for several years. My opinions on automation, immigration, and the rest predate Trump and his campaign for president. I putting this here because some people will blame the President or certain presidential candidates for the attack. This is not the case. I know that the media will probably call me a white supremacist anyway and blame Trump’s rhetoric. The media is infamous for fake news. Their reaction to this attack will likely just confirm that.”
You can read the alleged manifesto in its entirety here.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of all of the victims who lost their lives in the horrific attack.
