Image Credit: JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images 
Mainstream media outlets are suggesting the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs on Saturday that resulted in five dead and 18 injured is the result of the “far-right” targeting Drag Queen Story Time.
The Colorado Springs Police Department have identified the suspect as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich during a press conference on Sunday, but did not suggest a motive.
That didn’t stop Law & Crime from pinning the blame on conservatives:
Officers did not suggest a motive. Club Q had scheduled several shows for Sunday, including a noontime event marketed as an all-ages drag brunch. Such shows became a lightning rod and punching bag for far-right figures, resulting in harassment.
Notably, a man with the same name was previously arrested in June 2021 for threatening his mother with “a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition.”
JUST IN: #BNNUS Reports
While law enforcement denied that Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, the suspect in the #ClubQ mass shooting in #ColoradoSprings, had any criminal history.
Attached is his criminal sheet from his bomb threat in 2021. pic.twitter.com/1C6fcNRRCB
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) November 20, 2022
Police would not confirm if that same man was the Club Q shooter.
This tragic and senseless shooting is already being used to demonize conservatives and their legitimate criticism of grooming events such as Drag Queen Story Time, which has become a growing trend in the U.S.
Club Q Colorado Springs was hosting a drag show called The T-Spot when the shooting occurred. This morning was supposed to be an all-ages drag brunch celebrating Trans Day of Remembrance. The shooter was incited by right-wing pundits, none of whom will ever be held responsible. pic.twitter.com/iOMYJ8ud5b
— Eli Erlick (@EliErlick) November 20, 2022
The murder of LGBTQ people at Club Q didn’t occur in a vacuum.
The right wing is stoking hate & violence against LGBTQ people — demonizing trans ppl & drag queens, calling gay men pedophiles, etc
Club Q was set to have a drag brunch today.
Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has consequences.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) November 20, 2022
What horrific news to wake up to. My family has been victim to a hate-motivated mass shooting. As an LGBTQ Coloradan this hits too close to home. Thinking of the poor victims at Club Q and their families. The right wing rhetoric fuels so much violence.
— James Reyes (@jamesreyes) November 20, 2022
Stop targeting the #LGBTIQ community.
I stand with the victims of the #ClubQ shooting. #EndHomophobia #SilenceHomophobes #GunControlNow pic.twitter.com/1IwTy0rP1S—
Henry Amador-Batten (@AmadorBatten) November 20, 2022
Club Q is the latest example of LGBTQ people being targeted simply for existing and being who they are.
We have a right to be our authentic selves in peace
We only want to be ourselves.The targeted rhetoric towards LGBTQ people needs to stop.
— Chase Oliver (@ChaseForLiberty) November 20, 2022
The mass shooting in Colorado Springs at Club Q is a direct result of coordinated, directed, deliberate attacks by republican, right wing politicians and governments.
That today is Trans Day of Remembrance is piercing.
— YK Hong (@ykhong) November 20, 2022
The shooting has also fired up renewed calls by Democrats and activist groups for more gun control.
The Biden administration released a statement Sunday calling for an “assault weapons ban” in the wake of the shooting.
“Earlier this year, I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly three decades, in addition to taking other historic actions. But we must do more. We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off America’s streets,” Biden said in the statement.
JUST IN: #BNNUS Reports
Statement from the @WhiteHouse and @POTUS @JoeBiden on the #ClubQ shooting in #ColoradoSprings. pic.twitter.com/yXCG8Q6pXE
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) November 20, 2022
Tragedy has once again struck the LGBTQ+ community — sadly, on #TransDayOfRemembrance when we mourn trans people killed by bigotry.
The horrific shooting at Club Q is a call to mourn victims, thank heroic responders, and take more actions to disarm hate and end gun violence. -NP
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 20, 2022
Please pray for the eternal rest of the five people who were murdered, and the recovery of the 18 injured, at the shooting at #ClubQ, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs last night. Pray and work for an end to the evils of homophobia, transphobia and gun violence. pic.twitter.com/3Ygr4hUwZm
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) November 20, 2022
At least five people were killed and 18 more injured in a shooting at Club Q, a LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs this weekend.
There have been more than 600 mass shootings so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.https://t.co/CuGzXr9DRA
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 20, 2022
At least five people were killed and 18 wounded in a mass shooting at the LGBTQ+ Club Q in Colorado Springs last night.
Our hearts are with the victims, their loved ones, the LGBTQ+ community, and all impacted by this horrific act of mass gun violence. https://t.co/wK414NucGZ
— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) November 20, 2022
I’m horrified by the news of last night’s shooting in Colorado Springs. On Transgender Day of Remembrance, I mourn the victims and send love to the Club Q community. We must confront hate and bigotry in all its forms and act to end our country’s shameful epidemic of gun violence.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 20, 2022
In a sane society, the shooter alone would face blame and consequences for his own actions.
But given the new “Alex Jones” precedent, it’s not farfetched to wonder if any conservative politicians or commentators will be sued for “inciting” the shooter to commit violence.