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Far-Right Rep. Paul Gosar Tweets Lie That Texas Shooter Was Trans

Paul Gosar

In a now-deleted tweet, Gosar claimed the person who killed 19 children and two teachers was "a transsexual leftist illegal alien."

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U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, a far-right Republican and major supporter of Donald Trump, tweeted and then deleted a false allegation that "a transsexual leftist illegal alien" was responsible for the mass shooting Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.

Gosar's tweet came in response to another Twitter user who wondered if the shooter was the type of "trash" who supported Gosar and his ideological allies, such as U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, The Arizona Republic reports.

Gosar responded, "We know already fool. It's a transsexual leftist illegal alien. ... It's apparently your kind of trash." The tweet was on his personal account, not his U.S. House feed. He eventually deleted the message, and the person he was responding to deleted the comment that led to Gosar's remark, but there are screen shots of the tweets.

Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School. The shooter was killed by police. The attack has prompted calls, mostly from Democrats, for further gun regulations.

Gosar wasn't the only one to allege the shooter was transgender or gender-nonconforming. "Photos purporting to show [the shooter] in skirts quickly circulated on social media, though they were debunked as featuring a person who doesn't live in Texas and wasn't involved in the slayings," the Republic reports.

In a commentary piece for the Republic, Laurie Roberts wrote that Gosar "has shown himself, yet again, to be completely unfit for office." She noted, "There is not so much as a shred of evidence that Ramos was a transexual, or a leftist, or an 'illegal alien.'"

However, she predicted that no Republican leader in Arizona will denounce him and that he will be reelected "in a landslide."

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.