"Almost immediately, numerous right-wing commentators and news outlets were very willing to speculate that, given the timing, the shooter must have been trans. Within the hour, former congressman and Fox commentator Jason Chaffetz, giving an "eyewitness account" of the scene, said: "I don't think it was a coincidence that the shot rang out when you have a question about transgender mass shootings. Hopefully I am wrong. I will probably get criticized for jumping to conclusions. ... I don't think that is a coincidence, but we will see.""
"Then, on Thursday morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that, according to a leaked internal memo from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, ammunition found after the shooting was " engraved with expressions of 'transgender and anti-fascist ideology,' " without indicating what those expressions (aside from some random arrow symbols) might be. Despite a lack of evidence, this assertion only served to fuel right-wing anti-trans vitriol in the day or so it remained in circulation."
Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University while answering a question about trans mass shooters. Hunter Kozak asked Kirk how many trans mass shooters there had been in the past ten years, and Kirk replied "too many," drawing cheers. Numerous right-wing commentators immediately speculated, without evidence, that the shooter must have been trans. Jason Chaffetz provided an eyewitness account suggesting the timing was not coincidental. The Wall Street Journal reported a leaked ATF memo claiming ammunition bore engravings referencing "transgender and anti-fascist ideology." Those unverified assertions intensified right-wing anti-trans vitriol as the investigation continued.
Read at Slate Magazine
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