A Year Ago, Rand Paul’s Account Tweeted That 2nd Amendment Exists ‘To Shoot at the Government’ (UPDATE)
One of the Republican lawmakers who was present at this morning’s shooting at a Virginia baseball field was Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). The Kentucky lawmaker and former presidential candidate spoke to both CNN and MSNBC immediately following the incident, giving his account while praising the presence of Capitol Hill police for preventing a “massacre.”
During his interview with CNN, Paul suggested that the shooter, later identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, was “politically motivated.” It has since been discovered that Hodgkinson, who died after a shootout with police, was a fervent Bernie Sanders supporter who volunteered for the independent senator’s presidential campaign.
Paul’s remarks about the shooting being motivated by politics are interesting considering his past comments about the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Last June, Paul sent out a tweet explaining that the amendment existed so citizens can shoot at a tyrannical government.
.@Judgenap: Why do we have a Second Amendment? It’s not to shoot deer. It’s to shoot at the government when it becomes tyrannical!
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 23, 2016
Needless to say, considering the nature of today’s events, this tweet has received renewed attention.
Good morning .@RandPaul. How’s your day? pic.twitter.com/9CYLa9twma
— MaxineShaw (@KimShoeCrzy) June 14, 2017
This has not aged well, Senator. https://t.co/j37MOwPB0l
— Bradley P. Moss, Esq (@BradMossEsq) June 14, 2017
Hey @RandPaul, the shooter was merely exercising his second amendment rights, because all Americans are responsible right? #scaliseshooting
— Dan Sena (@DanSena) June 14, 2017
Looks like trump isn’t the ONLY one with tweets that age poorly.
Does Rand Paul feel the same way after the Alexandria #shooting? pic.twitter.com/i9TviVUglM
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) June 14, 2017
A tweet from last year. Rand Paul was in the batting cage near the field when the shooting began this morning https://t.co/4ZIjmng89v
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) June 14, 2017
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), two Capitol Hill officers, a congressional aide and a lobbyist were all shot and injured by Hodgkinson. Outside of Hodgkinson, there were no fatalities from the mass shooting and all of the victims are expected to survive.
UPDATE 4:17 PM ET: Paul’s communications director, Sergio Gor, provided Mediaite with a statement about the tweet, noting that it was sent by a staffer:
“The tweet you reference was part of live tweeting of someone else’s speech and it was done by a staffer. Those are not Senator Paul’s words.”
[image via screengrab]
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