Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted on Thursday how white supremacy was responsible for the deaths in the hours-long shooting in Jersey City. The tweet was later deleted as the alleged gunmen were African-American and one once belonged to a black supremacist group.
Tlaib was responding to a tweet that detailed the Jewish-Americans who were killed by suspects David Anderson and Francine Graham.
"This is heartbreaking," Tlaib said. "White supremacy kills."
The New York Post reported Anderson once belonged to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, a hate group that believes they are the true descendants of the ancient Israelites and express hatred towards white and Jewish people.
Anderson had served in the Army Reserves from September 1999 to September 2003. Once he was discharged, Anderson had been in and out jail for years up until the shooting, where he and Graham are accused of targeting a kosher grocery store.
After police finally killed Anderson and Graham, three civilians and a Jersey City detective were left dead.
Tlaib was criticized on Twitter for erroneously placing blame and apparently showing she knew very little about the attack.
Apparently Tlaib already deleted this. Her take on the Black Israelites' murder spree against Jews in Jersey City: pic.twitter.com/MFIHIgs60b
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 12, 2019
It's telling, and frankly sick, that Tlaib tweeted out sympathies for the Jews that were murdered blaming it on white supremacists. Didn't care enough to find out what happened. Just enough to use dead Jews for her political agenda.
— Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll (@skjask) December 12, 2019
Can't wait to see all of the "Ackchyually, Tlaib was right" and/or "Conservatives pounce" hot takes from Tlaib's white knights. pic.twitter.com/WLoi1WFOge
— Alex VanNess (@thealexvanness) December 12, 2019
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has called the shooting a hate crime.
bypassed potential targets near the store, the video is clear that the drivers bypassed potential targets driving to the store, it is also clear they chose a Jewish Grocery store next to a yeshiva after driving to that location, it is also clear that they began
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) December 11, 2019
We shouldn’t parse words. To stop hate + anti-semitism we need to call it out QUICKLY for what it is. Some will say don’t call it anti-semitism or a hate crime till a longer review but being Jewish myself + the grandson of holocaust survivors I know enough to call it what this is
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) December 11, 2019