WHAT?!

House GOP Strategy Memo: Blame Mass Shootings on ‘Violence From the Left’

The House Republican Conference’s talking-points memo reportedly provided a framework for elected officials to deflect from questions about white nationalism.

A memo from the House Republican Conference advised members to characterize the El Paso mass shooting and other tragedies as “violence from the left,” The Tampa Bay Times reported Friday.

The leaked memo reportedly contained suggestions for responding to anticipated questions about gun violence. In response to questions about closing the “gun-show loophole” or banning high-capacity magazines, for example, the memo provides answers that are “boilerplate Republican arguments against tougher gun restrictions,” the Times reported.

For questions about whether white nationalism contributes to recent mass shootings, the memo reportedly suggested responding by deflecting to a “both sides” argument. “White nationalism and racism are pure evil and cannot be tolerated in any form. 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,” the memo reportedly said.

A spokesperson for Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), who included the memo in a newsletter this week, said the El Paso shooting—in which the gunman reportedly targeted Hispanic people—was mistakenly included instead of the Dayton shooting, which Republicans have linked to leftist politics despite ambiguous evidence.