Donald Trump Jr. compares PETA and NRA in 'immature' Twitter rant after YouTube shooting
UPDATE: PETA has commented on the alleged shooter.
“She appeared at a few demonstrations about 9 years ago, but the phone number she gave did not work, and she did not contact us after that. We have not been in contact with her.”
Police in Northern California are investigating a shooting at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, Calif. Nasim Aghdam allegedly opened fire, injuring three people before turning the gun on herself.
Authorities are scrambling to learn more about the attack, including a motive, and they’re looking at the 38-year-old suspect’s personal YouTube account for clues. Aghdam’s channel allegedly contained extremist vegan, pro-animal rights content. According to her social media pages, the woman felt YouTube was regulating her channel and trampling her right to free speech.
YouTube — and other streaming services such as Apple and Amazon — have recently been pressured to ban extremist content from their sites; however lately the focus has been on gun-related content. In response to the Parkland mass shooting in February, YouTube announced it would prohibit videos about direct sales and modifying of firearms. Several petitions have also been created, urging the site to remove NRATV and NRA ads.
Many couldn’t help but see the irony of YouTube being targeted by an alleged vegan extremist with a gun — including Donald Trump Jr., who used the shooting as an opportunity to mock the anti-gun agenda. He went off on a NRA-friendly rant on Twitter.
You think there’s any chance whatsoever that a mass shooters hateful Instagram and YouTube channels would be pulled immediately if they were NRA members as opposed to liberal Vegan PETA activists? Asking for a few million friends in the @NRA
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 4, 2018
Some users agreed with Trump Jr.’s assessment of the shooting. However, many criticized the businessman for making light of the attack, which injured several people. They blasted Trump Jr. on Twitter.
"Asking for a [few million] friend[s]" is a sort of immature way to address a serious issue like mass shooting. I wouldn't expect anything else from you. Stay out of policy, it's not your thing, kind of like property management.
— m_l_a_d_y (@m_l_a_d_y) April 4, 2018
Three people were just shot and the President's son is railing against Vegans on Twitter…
— Breetbort (@Breetbort) April 4, 2018
What the hell is the matter with you. Calm down and think before you spout off on serious issuses.people are dead and wounded,it's not a game for you to have political fun with
— Kevin Heldman (@kevinjayheldman) April 4, 2018
Oh shut up, you idiot. This is your fourth or fifth tweet TONIGHT saying the exact same nonsense. Just remember this the next time you open your damn yap about LIBERALS politicizing shootings.
— Daniel Fienberg (@d_fienberg) April 4, 2018
Never seen anyone so excited about people getting shot! Sad!
— Michael Coleman (@sacmike) April 4, 2018
Trump Jr. did not respond to the backlash; he continued tweeting and retweeting comments such as, “PETA has more mass shooters than the NRA,” and “PETA is a terrorist organization.”
PETA previously commented on Donald Trump Jr. saying, “The Trump sons would shoot their own mother if she was on four legs. There’s nothing funny about the super-privileged depriving the less privileged of all they value, including their lives, and PETA reminds their father that he used to condemn them for fishing and hunting, saying that he didn’t understand how they could. Neither do we.”
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