Musk, Trump Jr., far-right figures seize on Iowa shooter's possible LGBTQ identity
After the Iowa school shooting, far-right figures like Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and the Libs of TikTok account zeroed in on the likelihood that the assailant was LGBTQ and suggested that queer people are more likely to pose a danger to others.
As authorities and journalists scrambled to uncover information about the shooter who opened fire at an Iowa school on Thursday, far-right figures zeroed in on the likelihood that the assailant was LGBTQ and once again suggested that queer people are more likely to pose a danger to others.
Early Thursday morning, a 17-year-old student at Perry High School, in the Des Moines suburb of Perry, fatally shot a sixth grader and wounded five others before apparently killing himself, officials said. Authorities identified the shooter as Dylan Butler and said he acted alone. They have not commented publicly about his sexuality or gender identity.
However, screenshots from Butler’s social media accounts, which have since been taken down, appear to display some LGBTQ symbolism, including rainbow and transgender flag emojis and an image of graffiti that says “LOVE YOUR TRANS KIDS.”
Far-right social media personalities and conservative provocateurs were quick to pounce on these revelations.
“This is the trans genderfluid terorst who shot up a school in Iowa today,” the account Libs of TikTok posted that same day on X, where it has over 2.7 million followers. “Trans extremists are a serious threat. The media will bury this.”
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