Despite little information being publicly known about the alleged shooter or their motivations in the aftermath of the massacre, right-wing media personalities were quick to deny that the mass shooting at an LGBTQ club could possibly be driven by hate. In fact, much of the initial coverage from both broadcast media and mainstream print and online outlets failed to properly connect the shooting to ongoing conservative and far-right campaigns of hateful anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
But as more information has emerged, it is becoming clear that right-wing media capitalized on incomplete information to continue pushing their anti-LGBTQ agendaeven after the shooting. In December 2022, NBC News reported that the FBI was investigating two websites connected to the suspect, one of which was described as a “free speech” forum that hosted racist and antisemitic content. NBC News and The Daily Beast also spoke to the alleged shooter’s former neighbor and friend who said they often made racist and homophobic statements.
Details in those reports were seemingly confirmed this week during a preliminary hearing to decide whether to try the alleged shooter for hate crimes. A police detective testified that the suspect ran a neo-Nazi website and frequently used racist and anti-LGBTQ slurs — they even sent a photo of a gay pride parade shown through a rifle scope to a friend over Discord.
Here’s a look at how right-wing media used the suspect’s gender identity in the wake of their arrest to argue that the Club Q shooting could not possibly be a hate crime.