Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) is one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest fans and far-right extremist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) biggest allies. The MAGA congressman has repeatedly made news for his wild claims and outrageous exaggeration.
But he hit a new low following a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school when he blamed a “transsexual leftist illegal alien” for the massacre of 19 children and two teachers. The shooter, a 18-year-old cisgender male, had already been identified by the time of Gosar’s vile assertion.
Related: Pete Buttigieg sums up what America is feeling after Texas school shooting in four words
Gosar identified the perpetrator as Salvatore Ramos. The correct name is Salvador Rolando Ramos.
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Gosar appears to have lifted a photo from a transgender artist’s Reddit account and the claim quickly spread across far-right websites and MAGA followers.
“It’s not me, I don’t even live in texas,” the user posted with a photo of themselves in front of a trans flag.
While Gosar removed the post hours after publishing it, he did not admit that he was wrong and has made no attempt to apologize for endangering the woman’s life by incorrectly identifying her as a child killer. Instead, he posted propaganda that claimed the government was planning “gun confiscation.” He didn’t even offer “thoughts and prayers.”
