Following a Sunday shooting at a Houston megachurch that wounded two people, conservatives have seized on aspects of the alleged perpetrator’s identity — and misinformation about it — to further their attacks on trans people and immigrants.
Police have disclosed that the shooter previously used male and female names as aliases, while noting that she consistently identified as female. Additionally, police said that she was the biological mother of a child who was seriously injured in the shooting. They also revealed that she had a label that read “Palestine” on the gun that was used, and had produced antisemitic writings that officials think could be related to a familial dispute.
Thus far, law enforcement is still working to establish a motive, but the reports of aliases have already led to incorrect claims that the shooter was a trans woman and that this aspect of her identity was tied to the attack.
Some on the right — including lawmakers and commentators — have amplified those claims, using them to suggest this act of violence was an example of the threat they claim trans people pose. Certain conservatives also highlighted the shooter’s background as an immigrant from El Salvador and used this information to attack migrants.
In addition to advancing their culture war messaging, focusing on the shooter’s identity arguably helped Republicans divert attention from the issue of gun control and the need for more firearm regulations in the wake of another frightening shooting.
It’s a response that’s similar to the conservative reaction to a 2023 school shooting in Nashville, when prominent GOP pundits also used the shooter’s transgender identity to reiterate false claims about how trans people are dangerous. And it’s one that reveals how this is becoming a more common tool in the GOP’s messaging playbook.
For example, conservative commentator Benny Johnson linked the Lakewood shooting with the Nashville shooting and another…
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