Rantz: Mukilteo Council member Trump’s ‘rhetoric caused one of his supporters to be killed’

Mukilteo Council President Louis Harris is blaming former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric for the assassination attempt that killed one of his supporters at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend. While he said he extends his “thoughts and prayers to the innocent bystanders,” he also said he has “no sympathy” for Trump and “won’t give him an inch of compassion.”

Harris posted the controversial statement on his personal Facebook page after the assassination attempt against Trump.

I stand with President Biden in condemning this level of political violence in our nation.

While Trump is a toxic person, there is no justification to kill him like what was attempted today. What’s worse is his rhetoric caused one of his supporters to be killed.

I have no sympathy for the man and won’t give him an inch of compassion. His supporters deserve better.

Former Mukilteo Council member Riaz Khan responded to the post. He asked us to “pray for our former President Donald J. Trump and for our country.” A screenshot of the post was provided to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Investigators named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as the shooter, but have not yet revealed any motive. 50-year-old Corey Comperatore died after being hit by a bullet in the stands. There were two other victims, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74. Both are reportedly in stable condition.

More from Jason Rantz: After assassination attempt, Ashley Nerbovig of The Stranger promoted political violence against Donald Trump

Is Council President Louis Harris defending his controversial statements about Trump assassination attempt?

Harris defended his post in an emailed statement to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. He noted that he blind carbon copied (BCC) the city of Mukilteo’s legal representative.

“This statement was not posted to my City of Mukilteo social media account and doesn’t reflect my views as a representative in the City of Mukilteo,” he said. “As a representative of the City of Mukilteo, I stand with President Biden and other leaders in condemning political violence of any type. I extend my thoughts and prayers to the innocent bystanders who were killed or injured at this event.”

Notably absent from his statement are thoughts and prayers towards Trump, who narrowly escaped death.

Harris also said that he believes “that every leader has a responsibility to their followers. What they say and do affects the lives of their followers.” When asked if he believes any rhetoric targeting Trump, including referring to him as Hitler, played a role in fueling the shooter.

“I believe that many people have been misguided towards extremism and hate in this world and it’s created a less safe world for everyone,” he said.

More from Jason Rantz: After failed Donald Trump assassination attempt, will you stop claiming he’s Hitler?

The council member is no stranger to controversy

The Mukilteo council president is an outspoken progressive and is no stranger to earning the ire of critics.

A passionate supporter of the defund police movement, Harris defended the slogan “ACAB” (all cops are bastards) on his personal Facebook page, calling it “an unchecked system of power with little to no accountability.”

He claimed that have “the authority to kill you, put you in prison, make you lose your job, rack up debt against you, take years away from your freedom, and traumatize you and your family just because they’re having a bad day. Imagine that they can do this with little to no repercussions if they fudge a report or plant evidence.”

A troubling trend in aftermath of assassination attempt

Harris isn’t the only public official under fire for insensitive statements after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Local and national figures — including their staff — have posted questionable reactions.

Aberdeen Mayor Douglass Orr posted a conspiracy theory to his personal Facebook account claiming he thought the assassination attempt was staged.

“Ears bleed alot [sic]. I hope they check to make sure it wasn’t just a self-inflicted scratch. The shooter is dead so we will never know if it was staged,” he wrote on Facebook. “Not buying it quite yet Any way [sic] you look at it, it was a horrific act. Short of Biden dieing [sic], this is about the only thing that could happen that would artificially gain Trump sympathy votes. I hope I’m wrong, but because of his record of deceit, that’s the first thing that came to mind.”

In Colorado, State Representative Steven Woodrow posted on X: “The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are.” He deleted his X account after pushback.

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