Right-wing media blame everyone from Shakespeare to Snoop Dogg for shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise

Special Programs Guns & Public Safety

Written by Nina Mast

Published

After five people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), were wounded during a baseball practice in Alexandria, VA, right-wing media figures blamed comedian Kathy Griffin, a New York theater, the investigation into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, and several others for the shooting.


Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

  1. Snoop Dogg: WorldNetDaily cited Snoop Dogg as an example of a left-wing figure whose opposition to Trump “adds up to a culture teetering on the brink of disaster.” Fox's Eric Bolling also referred to Snoop Dogg when he claimed, “Crazy people act on the crazy things they hear from politicians and celebrities.”

  2. President Obama: Right-wing radio host Michael Savage alleged that former President Barack Obama had “been screaming for” people to “kill” or “shoot” others.

  3. Madonna: Fox’s Steve Doocy and Sean Hannity and far-right outlets WorldNetDaily and Breitbart blamed Madonna for the shooting.

  4. New York theater production of Julius Caesar: Fake news purveyor Freedom Daily cited a New York theater production of Julius Caesar as a cause of the attack, saying the show's Caesar -- who is assassinated -- represented Trump.

  5. Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch: Bolling, far-right conspiracy theory outlet Infowars, and fake news purveyor TruthFeed blamed former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for the shooting, citing her remarks about how those who have fought for social justice bled and even died for their causes.

  6. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA): Infowars and TruthFeed took Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)’s comments about “fight[ing] in the streets” out of context to blame him for inciting violence.

  7. Kathy Griffin: Bolling, Hannity, Breitbart, and TruthFeed cited comedian Kathy Griffin's commentary on Trump as one of the causes of the attack.

  8. Democrats: TruthFeed, Freedom Daily, and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed that “Democrat leadership” is “100% complicit in this tragedy.”

  9. The deep state: Infowars’ Alex Jones blamed the “deep state” for the shooting.

  10. Southern Poverty Law Center: Breitbart wrote that the shooter “liked” Southern Poverty Law Center's Facebook page, and that the SPLC hasn’t retracted “repeated attacks on Rep. Scalise.”

  11. CNN and MSNBC: Savage also said the heads of CNN and MSNBC were “propagating hatred on a daily basis,” which led to the shooting.

  12. The investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia: Chatter Media’s John Cardillo tweeted that “those pushing false Russia narratives have blood on their hands.”

  13. Mainstream media: “Alt-right” trolls Jack Posobiec and Nick Short, Fox’s Lou Dobbs, Infowars’ Paul Joseph Watson, as well as hacker Kim Dotcom blamed mainstream media for the shooting.