Memo reveals a House Republican strategy on shootings: downplay white nationalism, blame left
Revealed: Republican lawmaker aided group training young men for 'biblical warfare'
The first one is quite galling, as the El Paso shooter literally *quotes trump*
A document obtained by the Tampa Bay Times and sent by House Republicans provides a framework for how to respond to anticipated questions like, "Why won't you pass legislation to close the 'gun show loophole' in federal law?" and "Why shouldn't we ban high-capacity magazines?" The answers are boilerplate Republican arguments against tougher gun restrictions.
But it also included this question: "Do you believe white nationalism is driving more mass shootings recently?" The suggested response is to steer the conversation away from white nationalism to an argument that implies both sides are to blame.
"White nationalism and racism are pure evil and cannot be tolerated in any form," the document said. "We also can't excuse violence from the left such as the El Paso shooter, the recent Colorado shooters, the Congressional baseball shooter, Congresswoman Giffords' shooter and Antifa."
Revealed: Republican lawmaker aided group training young men for 'biblical warfare'
The Guardian said said:The Republican politician Matt Shea connected close allies with a group offering training to young men in "biblical warfare" that includes how to use knives, pistols and rifles, with lessons based in part on the teachings of a Georgia-based neo-Confederate pastor, emails obtained by the Guardian reveal.
Shea, who is an elected Washington state representative, later made videos in support of the group, and appeared alongside them at a gathering at a religious community in remote eastern Washington. He also paid the founder of the group money from his campaign fund in 2018.
*snip*
In his email to Shea, Caughran goes on to list weapons training as part of the event for attendees. The training will "show them how to work better as a team, both in achieving physically demanding tasks and on the battlefield. Those who attend will learn combatives, the use of a knife in defense, close quarters shooting with rifle and pistol and how to work effectively in teams of 2, 3 and 4."
The first one is quite galling, as the El Paso shooter literally *quotes trump*