Georgia Dem. Who Accused White Man of Racist Attack Caught Sympathizing with Parkland Shooter
Democratic Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas, who made headlines over the weekend by claiming to be the victim of a racist attack, was making a different kind of headlines on Tuesday — for expressing support for Parkland, Florida, mass killer Nikolas Cruz.
It came in since-deleted tweet from 2018 tweet.
“My heart goes out to Nikolas Cruz!!” Thomas wrote.
Huh pic.twitter.com/zQ53lL4oDR
— Ben (@BenHowe) July 23, 2019
Cruz is charged with murdering 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. He has confessed to the killings and currently awaits trial.
If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
Thomas alluded to Cruz’s mental health in the tweet, saying that “some don’t know how to cope with being an orphan,” adding the hashtags “#mentalhealth” and #prayfornik.”
Cruz’s mental health struggles were widely documented in the wake of the shooting.
Parkland victims’ family members condemned Thomas’ remarks on Twitter.
School safety activist Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed in the Parkland shooting, recapitulated news about Thomas in recent days.
Then he reminded the lawmaker that “the Internet is forever.”
Hi @itsericathomas. It’s been quite a week for you. Hopefully you’ve learned a lot this week.
Let’s review 3 things we all hope you’ve learned:
1. There are cameras EVERYWHERE.
2. 10 items or less MEANS 10 items or less.
and finally
3. The Internet is forever. https://t.co/k6VTEiPg9q pic.twitter.com/gePBKftptp
— Ryan Petty (@rpetty) July 23, 2019
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was also killed, wrote, “how dare [Erica Thomas] give the kid who murdered my daughter even a shred of empathy!”
My daughter was the victim.
Her classmates were the victims.
Her teachers were the victims.
How dare @itsericathomas give the kid who murdered my daughter even a shred of empathy! #FixIt https://t.co/Dn2uerEOu7
— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) July 23, 2019
The unearthing of Thomas’ tweet is just the latest controversy for a state lawmaker who was relatively unknown just a week ago.
Now she’s becoming a headline name — just not in the way any lawmaker, or anyone else, would ever want.
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