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'Don't be a Cruz': Missouri Senator Josh Hawley slammed for calling Nashville school shooting anti-Christian hate crime

In a letter to the FBI and Secretary of Homeland Security, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley referred to the shooting as a 'targeted' attack 'against Christians'

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Missouri senator Josh Hawley urged federal officials to look into the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, 2023, as a "hate crime" against Christians. The tragic mass shooting took the lives of six people, including three children. Shooter Andrew Hale, a White transgender student, was shot dead by two heroic Nashville cops.

In a letter to the FBI Director Christopher Wray and the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Hawley referred to Hale's shooting spree as a "targeted" attack "against Christians". He urged the federal government to use "the full resources" to find out why the 28-year-old former student of the Nashville school committed the awful act. According to reports, the senator holds morally conservative political views. His philosophy earlier has been decried as reactionary and theocratic by critics, as per Wikipedia. Now, his stance on the school shooting has drawn a lot more criticism.

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What did Senator Josh Hawley say in the letter?

"It is commonplace to call such horrors ‘senseless violence.’ But properly speaking, that is false," Hawley stated in his letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. He added, "Police report that the attack here was 'targeted' — targeted, that is, against Christians," as cited by New York Post.

"I urge you to immediately open an investigation into this shooting as a federal hate crime. The full resources of the federal government must be brought to bear to determine how this crime occurred, and who may have influenced the deranged shooter to carry out these horrific crimes. Hate that leads to violence must be condemned. And hate crimes must be prosecuted," the Missouri Republican noted.

What is a hate crime?

According to federal law, acts of violence that result in physical harm to a person and are motivated by a person's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity are considered hate crimes.

Only senator to vote against Anti-Hate Crimes Bill

Congress approved a measure in the spring of 2021 to assist hate crime victims and enhance the detection and investigation of such crimes. It passed the Senate 94-1; Hawley was the lone senator who voted against it as it cleared the Senate 94-1. The measure, according to Hawley, is "too broad," as reported by NY Post. He now wants to look into whether the recent mass murder in Nashville was a hate crime.

After the Buffalo shooting, members of Congress began advocating for the passage of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which sought to create offices dedicated to combating neo-Nazi and White supremacist terror threats. Hawley vehemently opposed the measure, dubbing it the "Patriot Act for American Citizens," reports TNR.

'You should call for a hate crime on yourself'

Many users on Twitter slammed the Missouri Republican for calling the shooting a hate crime. A user tweeted, "A hate crime, Senator, is a statutory designation related to charging and sentencing. The shooter is dead. You know this. So if it's not ignorance on your part, it's at best misdirection. But it's certainly malfeasance. Don't be a Cruz." Another user said, "The shooter already received the death penalty. Are you wanting the FBI to find out more so they can dig up the corpse to shoot her again?"

One person remarked, "Any investigation should focus on why you've not yet been expelled from Congress." One user asked, "WHAT? What about Parkland or Uvalde? Where were you then?" "You should call for a hate crime on yourself," another person claimed. One noted, "Stick to what you know best NOTHING." "Stop grandstanding and do some actual work," penned another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.