Bernie Sanders. (Getty)
Congressional shooter James Hodgkinson was a fan of Bernie Sanders, according to his posts on social media. In fact, a large photo of Bernie is the shooter’s cover photo on Facebook. The Vermont Senator now says that he believes Hodgkinson was a volunteer on his campaign.
What else has Bernie Sanders said about the shooting and Hodgkinson’s apparent support of him?
The Vermont senator posted a single tweet about the shooting in the hours after it unfolded. He wrote, “Our prayers go out for a full recovery of Rep. Scalise, the congressional aides and police who were injured. We’ve got to stop the violence.” He was referring to Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican shot in the rampage.
Our prayers go out for a full recovery of Rep. Scalise, the congressional aides and police who were injured. We’ve got to stop the violence.
However, he later released a lengthy statement saying that he was “sickened” by the shootings and revealing that the gunman was “apparently” a volunteer on his presidential campaign. He said that real change can only be obtained through non-violent means. Read:
Sen. Bernie Sanders says the alleged shooter “apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign … I am sickened by this despicable act”
Hodgkinson, a home mold inspector from Belleville, Illinois, was shot and killed by heroic Capitol police officers who were there as a security retinue for the Congressmen and staffers who were at the practice. The baseball practice was unfolding in a Virginia park in preparation for a charity baseball game when, police say, Hodgkinson, 66, asked whether Republicans and Democrats were practicing.
Only Republicans were, and Hogkinson, heavily armed, then ambushed the players on the baseball diamond, shooting Rep. Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, and injuring four others. The two Capitol police officers were shot as they returned Hodgkinson’s gunfire.
A photo on one of Hodgkinson’s two Facebook pages.
On Facebook, Hodgkinson wrote negative commentary about Republicans. He wrote of President Donald Trump: “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” He also posted that he had signed a petition urging an independent investigation into Donald Trump and Russia. He had two Facebook sites. On the second one he wrote, “I Want to Say Mr. President, for being an ass hole you are Truly the Biggest Ass Hole We Have Ever Had in the Oval Office.”
Here is a screenshot of his Facebook cover photo:
These were some of his Facebook posts that mentioned Bernie Sanders:
James Hogkinson Facebook post.
And this one:
(Facebook)
He also posted graphics about Bernie Sanders:
(Facebook)
And this one:
Sanders’ last tweet before the one referencing the shooting came hours before and said, “If Democrats are prepared to stand up to the greed of the billionaire class, the party will stop losing elections.”
You can read more about James Hodgkinson here:
