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    Sen. Hawley Demands Christian School Shooting Be Investigated as a Hate Crime

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    Not only was the recent shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee horrific, but, according to Sen. Josh Hawley, it needs to be investigated as a hate crime. That’s because, he claims, the transgender shooter, Aubrey Hale, targeted Christians in the attack.

    Sen. Hawley announced his demand on Twitter, posting the letter he sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas with the caption, “I am calling on FBI Director Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to open a federal hate crime investigation into the massacre in Nashville – targeting a Christian school.”

    In the letter, Sen. Hawley said:

    Yesterday the nation witnessed the vicious murder of small schoolchildren in Nashville, Tennessee. An individual identified by police as Audrey Hale killed six people students Evelyn Dickhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, and employees Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Michael Hill in a murderous rampage at a Christian school known as The Covenant School’ It is commonplace to call such horrors “senseless violence.” But properly speaking, that is false. Police report that the attack here was “targeted”? -targeted, that is, against Christians.



    Federal law explicitly criminalizes acts of violence against individuals based on religious affiliation as hate crimes. To be exact, the federal hate crime statute, 18 U.S.C. § 249(a)(1), bars “willfully causing] bodily injury to any person . . . because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person.” According to Nashville law enforcement, Hale’s attack was both premeditated and “targeted” against this Christian school, its students and employees. Nashville police chief John Drake announced yesterday that “we have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.” Moreover, police detectives believe that Hale had “some resentment for having to go to that school.»

    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.

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    Hawley made a similar demand on FNC’s “The Ingraham Angle,” saying:

    While many on the right cheered Hawley’s demands, some argued that it was a waste of time and would be better spent trying to impeach the Biden apparatchiks. Leading that charge was pro-Trump political commentator Emerald Robinson, who said, “Your time would be better spent impeaching them both — rather than begging them to act like public servants for once.”

    Fox News Digital, reporting on the horrifying assault on the Christian school, reported that:

    The victims were identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and 61-year-old Mike Hill. Koonce was the head of school at Covenant, according to the school’s website.

    The Covenant School is a private Christian institution for students up to 6th grade, according to its website.

    Police named the shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old Nashville resident who identified as transgender. Investigators were investigating a home connected to her. Nashville police Chief John Drake said Hale possibly prepared for the shooting, including having written a manifesto.

    Featured image credit: screengrab from embedded video