As authorities searched for the Brown University shooter who left two students dead in a campus attack on December 13, right-wing personalities connected to the Trump administration spread Islamophobic misinformation, potentially endangering a local Palestine student.
During the manhunt, pro-Trump venture capitalist Shaun Maguire posted a video accusing Mustapha Kharbouch, a Palestinian student at Brown, of the shooting. Billionaire hedge fund manager and Trump-backer Bill Ackman also retweeted multiple accounts making the claim.
The baseless claim seemingly originated from an anonymous Twitter account before gaining momentum across social media.
“The past few days have been an unimaginable nightmare. I woke up on Tuesday morning to unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations being directed toward me online,” said Kharbouch in a statement. “Instead of grieving with my community in the aftermath of the horrible shooting, I received non-stop death threats and hate speech. This is, however, nothing compared to the ongoing acts of genocide against Palestinians living in occupied Gaza and the West Bank.”
“But it is a story every Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, and marginalized person knows all too well — we should not live in a world where this is acceptable or normal. I refuse to be silenced by anyone who comes after me for my identity and advocacy for Palestinians — a people I happen to owe my entire existence to,” he continued. “Even in this nightmare, I have been flooded with incredible messages of support from friends, faculty, staff, and strangers alike, and it is because of them that I continue to have faith in a world that stands up against all forms of racism.”
“Let’s be clear: racism against Palestinians is at the core of these baseless attacks,” Mustapha, on the mere basis of his being Palestinian,” said Kharbouch’s attorneys.
Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer insisted that the shooter was an immigrant student who shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire, even after police found the dead body of the alleged gunman, 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, who was a Portuguese national.
Loomer, who has a close relationship with the White House, insisted that the revelation was fabricated to protect the actual killer.
“They wanted to protect an immigrant student,” tweeted Loomer. “They should be held accountable.”
Some of the conspiracy-mongering emanated directly from the Trump administration.
In a tweet, Senior Justice Department official Harmeet Dhillon said it was suspicious that Brown had removed information about Kharbouch from its webpages following the shooting, even though it was a precautionary measure implemented to protect doxxed students.
The same sentiments were expressed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and right-wing podcaster Tim Pool.
“These figures used their considerable megaphones to try to destroy the life of a private citizen,” wrote The Nation’s national affairs correspondent Jeet Heer. “This racist mob operated with reckless disregard for the truth, likely because they knew that Islamophobia enjoys near-total impunity in the United States.”
The targeting of Kharbouch comes amid ongoing attacks on Palestine organizing and a widening attack on the broader left.
Earlier this month, a leaked memo revealed Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered federal law enforcement to investigate “extremist groups” that express “opposition to law and immigration enforcement, “extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders,” and “adherence to radical gender ideology.
The memo also cited “anti-Americanism,” “anti-capitalism,” and “anti-Christianity” as grounds for potential investigations.
The language of the memo mirrors the text of NSPM-7, the memorandum that President Trump signed shortly after the right-wing pundit was murdered.
“…we should not live in a world where this is acceptable or normal…”. Thank you Mr Kharbouch. You are not alone.
Right-wing Islamophobes like the Jewish Laura Looney get a thorough and appropriately deserved skewering from Michael Arria and Mondoweiss, but right-wing anti-Semites like Tucker Carlson who disseminate hostile innuendos against Jews get a pass, or even covert praise.