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Gohmert trashed on Twitter over his reaction to New Zealand massacre

Texas GOP rep said there are alternatives to ‘resolve controversies’ instead of ‘cold blooded murders’

Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert holds a news conference on border security outside of the Capitol in January. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert holds a news conference on border security outside of the Capitol in January. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Rep. Louie Gohmert was skewered Friday for his statement after a white supremacist shot Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 49 people.

“There are courts, dispute resolutions, and legislatures to resolve controversies — there is no place for cold blooded murder,” the Texas Republican said in his statement.

People promptly objected to Gohmert’s characterization of the shooting as a “controversy,” since the victims who were killed were worshiping at Friday prayers.

Multiple media outlets have reported that the shooter — a 28-year-old Australian man — left behind a manifesto saying he was a racist.

None have reported that the mosques or their regular attendants were involved in any sort of controversy.

By noon Friday, Gohmert’s tweet with a link to his statement had more than 1,200 replies — mostly condemning the congressman for his choice of words — and less than 70 retweets.

Here are a few of the tamer replies:

Senators and House members from both parties tweeted out statements of sympathy on Friday for the victims of the shootings and their families, with some reminding their constituents that the U.S. must confront similar instances of hate-fueled violence.

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