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Sen. Hawley calls for hate crime probe into Nashville Christian school massacre; Garland says not so fast

March 29, 2023 | | Print Article

Senator Josh Hawley called the Biden administration to launch a federal hate crime probe into Monday’s mass shooting at a Nashville Christian school in which a troubled transgender took the lives of six people, including three young children, a massacre that comes at a time of heightened hostility toward people of faith.

On Tuesday, the Missouri Republican sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in which he described the murders as a “targeted” assault “against Christians” and called for “the full resources of the federal government” to investigate what drove the mentally disturbed woman to target the specific school as the location where she conducted her murderous actions.

“It is commonplace to call such horrors ‘senseless violence.’ But properly speaking, that is false,” he wrote. “Police report that the attack here was ‘targeted’ — targeted, that is, against Christians.”

“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,” Hawley added.

Hawley also delivered an impassioned speech from the Senate floor on the slaughter carried out by 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who in addition to her gender issues, was also reportedly undergoing care for an undescribed “emotional disorder,” at the time of her rampage which comes at a time of heightened violent rhetoric from the transgender community over new Tennessee legislative actions against drag show performances where kids are present, and “gender-affirming” genital mutilation surgery for minors.

But there are already signs that the federal law enforcement apparatus – at least as it exists under the helm of President Joe Biden – isn’t about to move quickly when the dead bodies don’t belong to one of the demographics that the Democratic Party protects.

During an unrelated Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, the nation’s top law enforcement official dodged on the hate crime aspect of Hale’s killing spree when he was asked by Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) about whether he planned on opening a hate crime investigation into the murders.

“I realize that the shooter is dead, but the shooter could have had collaborators. Do you plan on opening a hate crime investigation for the targeting of Christians?” Kennedy asked.

Garland replied, “The FBI and ATF are both on the scene working with the local police, as of now, motive hasn’t been identified.”

“We are certainly working full-time with them to try and determine what the motive is, and, of course, motive is what determines whether it’s a hate crime or not,” he said.

“At the federal level, hate crime laws include crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability,’ the Justice Department’s website states.

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Chris Donaldson
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