Gunman Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 49 people inside 2 mosques in New Zealand on Thursday, claims American conservative activist Candace Owens radicalized him via her conservative viewpoints on social media.
Tarrant live-streamed his terrorist attack by walking into the Al Door Mosque in Christchurch with a camera attached to the top of his helmet.
Over the next 17 minutes, Tarrant recorded himself gunning down nearly 100 people, leaving 49 dead and 48 injured.
Social media giants Facebook, Twitter and Instagram scrambled to delete copies of the video which are still being shared on those networks.
Before going on the murderous rampage, Tarrant, 28, posted a 74-page manifesto on Twitter.com.
In it, the New South Wales, Australia native claimed Owens influenced him and pushed him “further and further into the belief of violence over meekness.”
Rather than condemn the violence, Owens made an already tragic situation even worse by tweeting “LOL!” Followed by a laughing emoji.
“LOL!
“FACT: I’ve never created any content espousing my views on the 2nd Amendment or Islam,” she tweeted on Thursday.
“The Left pretending I inspired a mosque massacre in…New Zealand because I believe black America can do it without government hand outs is the reachiest reach of all reaches!! LOL!”
Owens was shredded by thousands of followers on Twitter. Many pointed out her inappropriate use of a laughing face emoji in response to such a serious topic.
“Laughter is not the response one would expect after these murders,” one follower tweeted to her.
Owens shot back: “No. But a bunch of racist white liberals flooding my mentions is almost exactly what one would expect. You guys will never de-platform me.”
Another user tweeted:
“Maybe a little less laughing considering the death toll?”
And a third tweeted:
“when your tweet about a mass shooting starts with LOL and a laughing emoji, it’s time to delete your account. Seriously. Go.”
Others pointed out that Owens didn’t make a single sympathetic remark or send her condolences to the people of New Zealand.
Owens uses her considerable platform to persuade American Blacks to abandon the Democratic Party, which she says is racist and does nothing for Black people.
Owens is not known to promote violence to achieve her political goals.
Many believe Tarrant, who is a white supremacist, blamed the Black activist to spark race riots in America.
Owens recently came under fire for making questionably complimentary remarks about Hitler.
President Donald Trump sent his sympathies to the people of New Zealand.
“My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!”
My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2019
And former President Barack Obama also sent his condolences.
“Michelle and I send our condolences to the people of New Zealand. We grieve with you and the Muslim community. All of us must stand against hatred in all its forms.”
Michelle and I send our condolences to the people of New Zealand. We grieve with you and the Muslim community. All of us must stand against hatred in all its forms.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 15, 2019
