MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday was introduced to some pretty startling news in the aftermath of a tragic rampage at the GOP Congressional baseball practice: that the gunman, James Hodgkinson, was a fan of her show.
Discussing the horrific events the unfolded Wednesday morning, Maddow tracked the shooter’s online social media presence, which hits at a disgruntled political observer with a deep-seated hatred towards Republicans—though law enforcement stresses it does not yet have a clear motive for the rampage.
“Because his target was the Republican Congressional baseball practice, and because Hodgkinson had outspoken political views, there’s speculation and concern that his political views may have been the motive for his attack,” Maddow noted.
“His social media presence indicates he was very critical of President Trump, he had been very critical of Republicans generally, even before President Trump. He was an angry critic … he was apparently a fan and supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders,” she added.”
Maddow then referenced a series of letters to the editor Hodgkinson had sent a local paper, where he cited statistics he’d learned about Maddow’s show—which he professed to watch.
“I should tell you we went through our correspondence today as soon as we got his name, as soon as we got that detail about him,” Maddow said. “We didn’t find evidence he ever sent anything to this show or tried to contact us at all.”
“Obviously the combination of the target of this attack, these Republican members of Congress, and the online evidence of his political views, that has driven speculation, driven concern about whether this was a politically motivated shooting today,” she added.
