OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
It took minutes after a horrific mass shooting in Buffalo, New York that authorities have said was racially motivated, for celebrities and journalists to blame the massacre on Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former President Donald Trump.
The suspect, Payton Gendron, 18, posted a manifesto declaring his white supremacist ideology before he livestreamed his shooting on Twitch, The New York Post reported.
He mentioned other racially motivated killings and said he “mostly agreed” with Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who livestreamed his own attack that killed 51 people attending a New Zealand mosque in March 2019.
He said he started planning the attack in January and chose the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo because “it has the highest black population percentage” by Zip code and it wasn’t far away from his Southern Tier home. A section of the manifesto details his step-by-step plans for the day, including the corned beef hash he would eat for breakfast, how he would drive to Buffalo and scout out the supermarket, the way he would wear his body armor and carry his gun and how he would post a livestream online.
He allegedly carried out the attack at 3 p.m. instead of the planned 4 p.m. The madman also stopped his attack before a planned rampage through the neighborhood.
The shooter said he was radicalized during the early days of the pandemic when he was stuck at home and “bored.”
Nowhere in his manifesto were the names Tucker Carlson or Donald, as far as we know so far, but that did not stop the disgusting finger pointing after the tragedy.
“BREAKING: In his manifesto, the white supremacist mass shooter who live-streamed himself shooting 9 people at a Buffalo, New York supermarket, killing 2, reveals that he was motivated to do so by the “white replacement theory” that has been pushed by Trump. RT TO EXPOSE TRUMP!” Occupy Democrats tweeted in the minutes after the shooting was reported, though no actual evidence of former President Trump speaking of this theory was provided.
BREAKING: In his manifesto, the white supremacist mass shooter who live-streamed himself shooting 9 people at a Buffalo, New York supermarket, killing 2, reveals that he was motivated to do so by the “white replacement theory” that has been pushed by Trump. RT TO EXPOSE TRUMP!
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) May 14, 2022
“The racist massacre in Buffalo rest at the feet of Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and the GOP. There are not fine people on both sides,” actor Rob Reiner said.
The racist massacre in Buffalo rest at the feet of Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and the GOP. There are not fine people on both sides.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) May 15, 2022
“At the same moment a white supremacist murdered in Buffalo, a Trump event encouraged supporters of the leader of the Republican Party to “[go] berserk on the skulls of the Democrats.” Stop searching for nuanced explanations. None of this is complicated or hard to understand,” former FBI agent at the center of the Russiagate scandal Peter Strzok said, referring to something singer Ted Nugent said.
At the same moment a white supremacist murdered in Buffalo, a Trump event encouraged supporters of the leader of the Republican Party to “[go] berserk on the skulls of the Democrats.”
Stop searching for nuanced explanations. None of this is complicated or hard to understand. https://t.co/FHnY9i6MGD
— Peter Strzok (@petestrzok) May 15, 2022
“Will Tucker Carlson denounce the racist Great Replacement theory that he has exploited to enrich himself? If evidence shows Payton Gendron-charged in Buffalo supermarket mass killing – inspired by this hateful racist myth then this is his legacy. Remember Tucker Carlson this way,” prosecutor Shanlon Wu said.
Will Tucker Carlson denounce the racist Great Replacement theory that he has exploited to enrich himself? If evidence shows Payton Gendron-charged in Buffalo supermarket mass killing – inspired by this hateful racist myth then this is his legacy. Remember Tucker Carlson this way. pic.twitter.com/bI41dGCKzn
— Shanlon Wu (@shanlonwu) May 15, 2022
“The gunman who killed at least 10 people in Buffalo is a self-described white supremacist who advocates for the Great Replacement Theory. He left a manifesto. See if you can tell the difference between it and standard fare on the Tucker Carlson show,” Georgetown professor Don Moynihan said.
The gunman who killed at least 10 people in Buffalo is a self-described white supremacist who advocates for the Great Replacement Theory.
He left a manifesto. See if you can tell the difference between it and standard fare on the Tucker Carlson show. https://t.co/ScoxO1NG5E pic.twitter.com/T5mZw9iV9C— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) May 14, 2022
“Like the El Paso shooter who targeted a Walmart in a Latino neighborhood, the Buffalo shooter, who went after a store in a Black neighborhood, subscribed to the Great Replacement theory touted by conservative elites like Tucker Carlson and believed by nearly half of GOP voters,” Washington Post reporter Emmanuel Felton said.
Like the El Paso shooter who targeted a Walmart in a Latino neighborhood, the Buffalo shooter, who went after a store in a Black neighborhood, subscribed to the Great Replacement theory touted by conservative elites like Tucker Carlson and believed by nearly half of GOP voters
— Emmanuel Felton (@emmanuelfelton) May 15, 2022
“More blood on the hands of @tuckercarlson and @foxnews this killer used their racist talking points to justify killing 10 people. Carlson won’t stop because as he explained to the NYTimes, it’s good for ratings. Lives be damned. As Carlson will be at judgement day,” former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart, who worked for former President Bill Clinton, said.
More blood on the hands of @tuckercarlson and @foxnews this killer used their racist talking points to justify killing 10 people. Carlson won't stop because as he explained to the NYTimes, it's good for ratings. Lives be damned. As Carlson will be at judgement day. https://t.co/fse5bRvEbN
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) May 14, 2022
The shooter explicitly attacks Fox News in his deranged manifesto, you despicable liar. https://t.co/FljK1cXJxs
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) May 14, 2022
As GOP operative Arthur Schwartz said, “The shooter explicitly attacks Fox News in his deranged manifesto, you despicable liar.”
But when one has an agenda facts rarely matter.
