Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has dismissed theories investigated by authorities that the Texas shooter might have been motivated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi beliefs, saying that only "dumb white people" would believe that a non-white person would advocate white supremacy.
Last Saturday afternoon, a man shot and killed at least eight people, including children, at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas. He was killed by police at the scene, and later identified by authorities as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, of Dallas. Garcia, who was wearing a tactical vest and was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and a handgun, was a security guard and a former U.S. Army trainee. His security guard license had reportedly expired in 2020.
While the suspect's death makes it harder for the police to identify the motive behind the rampage, authorities are considering Garcia might have been influenced by white supremacist ideas—a theory that appears to be supported by some of his social media posts.
The New York Times reported that investigators found a social media profile they believe belonged to Garcia to be "rife with hate-filled rants against women and Black people." Bellingcat's Aric Toler posted on Twitter that Garcia's YouTube channel had a smiley face with Hitler-style mustache as profile image, and shared the screenshot of a picture allegedly portraying the gunman with a swastika and SS tattoos.
His social media accounts appear to have since been taken down.
While it appears clear that Garcia embraced white supremacist beliefs, it's not clear whether these motivated the shooting—and if they would make his attack qualify as an act of domestic terrorism, something that federal authorities are currently investigating.
But Greene has expressed her disbelief that the gunman could be advocating white supremacy as he had a Hispanic name. "Only dumb white people would believe that a Mexican gang member is killing people for white supremacy," she tweeted on Tuesday.
The Georgia congresswoman's reaction has been similar to that of right-wing pundits casting doubt over whether a Latino could have been motivated by white supremacy ideology. Conservative author Ann Coulter, whose tweet Greene's responded to, said: "MEDIA: Texas shooter is Mauricio Garcia, 2d generation immigrant ... and white supremacist. So we could have been spared this horror if only someone had told the shooter: 'Mauricio, you're not white!'"
Right Side Broadcast Brian Glenn, who's reportedly dating Greene, told Steve Bannon on Monday that Garcia couldn't be a white supremacist because he's a Latino and his parents spoke Spanish.
Newsweek has contacted Greene's spokesperson for comment by email.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
