On Wednesday morning, a shooter injured three people during a shooting at a congressional baseball dugout before he was shot and killed by police.
The shooter, identified as 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, was reportedly targeting Republican congressman and shot House majority whip in addition to wounding two Capitol Police officers.
Amid speculation that the shooting was politically motivated, social media accounts reportedly belonging to Hodgkinson showed that he had been a big supporter of Bernie Sanders and that he had volunteered for the Sanders campaign.
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Sanders responded to this news by saying he was “sickened by this despicable act.”
“Let me be as clear as I can be,” Sanders said. “Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.”
Donald Trump Jr., meanwhile, among other conservative voices, has pointed to Democrats as glorifying violence when it comes to dealing with political issues. He retweeted Michelle Malkin, who pointed to a professor’s tweet following the passage of the health care bill that Republicans “should be lined up and shot.” Trump Jr. also expressed agreement with Harlan Hill, who blamed those “glorifying the assassination of our President.”
Other conservatives pointed to stories recently in the news such as Kathy Griffin, who posed with a decapitated Donald Trump head, and the recent Shakespeare play featuring Donald Trump being stabbed in Julius Caesar.
Flashback: Professor says Republicans "should be lined up and shot."https://t.co/JeDcUTqfTU#Alexandria #GOPShooting pic.twitter.com/XrvV1caGUF
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) June 14, 2017
Events like today are EXACTLY why we took issue with NY elites glorifying the assassination of our President
— HARLAN Z. HILL 🇺🇸 (@Harlan) June 14, 2017
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 14, 2017
Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, a true friend and patriot, was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2017