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In the wake of yet another horrific mass shooting, right-wing media heavyweights have broken into their well-rehearsed song-and-dance routines that blame such recurring tragedies on weed, antifa, antidepressants, video games, and even the “teachings” of women—what can I say, anything but America’s astonishingly lax gun laws.

On Monday, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, a 21-year-old white man armed with an AR-15-like rifle, allegedly shot and killed seven people at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, wounding two or more participants. (Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, with more charges expected.) In Tucker Carlson’s coverage of the rampage, the Fox News star revived Reefer Madness-style arguments linking cannabis use to violence. “Like Crimo, [many young men in America] inhabit a lonely fantasy world of social media, pornography and video games,” the host said. “They’re very much on government-approved weed. ‘Smoke more! It’s good for you.’ They’ve been numbed by endless psychotropic drugs handed out in every school in the country by lunatics posing as counselors.” Carlson then blamed women for the violent rage displayed by young men like Crimo. “Of course they’re angry… The authorities in their lives – mostly women – never stop lecturing them about their so-called privilege,” he continued. “Try to imagine a more unhealthy, unhappy life than that. So many young men in America have gone mad. Are you surprised?”

About two hours later, Laura Ingraham brought up the same talking points — or as she put it, “the growing body of scientific evidence” linking violent behavior among youth to “sustained cannabis use” — to explain the shooting without mentioning guns. “What can regular weed use cause especially in young men? Psychoses and other violent personality changes,” said the presenter. As the faces of other mass shooters flashed on the screen, Ingraham, who made the same argument after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, suggested that the stone eyes were a clear warning sign displayed by mass shooters: “These are the eyes of some of the mass murderers who were allegedly regular weed users. Look at them.”

Others tried to take the simpler route of painting Crim as a leftist, essentially arguing: Well, he tattooed his face, dyed his hair weird colors, and dressed as a woman to avoid the police, so he must be antifa! “If you look at antifa, that’s what they look like!” said Fox News anchor Greg Gutfeld. Newsmax’s Greg Kelly made similar claims on Tuesday. “Look at him… and honestly, I’ve seen [his] type before,” Kelly noted. “Looks a bit anti-fashion doesn’t it?…You know he’s been caught in women’s clothing.” Kelly added that “maybe, like leftists everywhere, [Krimo] liked to wear women’s clothes, even though he is.” (In May, similar false claims were made about Robb Elementary School shooter Salvador Ramos. In what appeared to be an attempt to randomly pin Ramos’ violent acts on their political enemies, conservative figures, including Rep. Paul Gosar in a since-deleted tweet, falsely claimed the killer was trans or wore women’s clothing.)

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