Trans terrorism is the latest right-wing conspiracy theory | indy100

Houston Lakewood Church shooting: 5-year-old among victims

Fox - 4 News / VideoElephant

In another desperate attempt to make trans people the enemy, prominent figures on the right - including Libs of TikTok and Elon Musk - are falsely claiming "trans terrorism" is a thing.

After a shooting in Houston, Texas, on Sunday, where a woman walked into the Lakewood megachurch with her 7-year-old son, and opened fire with an AR-15, the right has been falsely suggesting the shooter was transgender.

Genesse Ivonne Moreno, the 36-year-old shooter at the Lakewood megachurch, was killed by armed off-duty law enforcement at the church. Two people were wounded: a 57-year-old man, and the shooter's son, who was critically injured.

The next day, far-right account Libs of TikTok, which has been known for its targeting of LGBTQ+ people, posted a document suggesting the shooter's name was actually "Jeffery."

The Independentreported that criminal records of Moreno show she has used several aliases in the past 20 years. All of which have been female aside from the name Jeffrey Escalante.

Without mentioning the previous aliases, Libs of TikTok - which is run by far-right activist Chaya Raichick - asserted that "The Lakewood Church shooter was transgender." Raichick added, "Another act of trans terrorism. We need to have a national conversation about the LGBTQ movement turning youth into violent extremists."

BREAKING: The Lakewood Church shooter was transgender. He went by the name \u201cGenesse\u201d and previously \u201cJeffrey.\u201d\n\nAnother act of trans terrorism. We need to have a national conversation about the LGBTQ movement turning youth into violent extremists.
— (@)

Despite Raichick's claims that the LGBTQ movement is producing violent extremists, a 16-year-old non-binary student, Nex Benedict, was beaten to death by three older female students at Owasso High School in Oklahoma on February 19. Civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo said the murder was "the inevitable result of the anti-trans moral panic."

Raichick's allegations of trans terrorism were also supported by X owner Elon Musk. Raichick asked "what kind of hormones and drugs was the trans terrorist who shot up the Texas church taking?" Musk then weight in, making the unsubstantiated claim that gender affirming care "could be a major causal factor in violence."

@eyeslasho Does seem concerning that maybe the hormones injections (especially sudden, large amounts of testosterone) could be a major causal factor in violence
— (@)

In a press conference on Monday, law enforcement stated they found no indication that Moreno identified as an antigen other than a cisgender female.

Moreno's ex-mother-in-law, Rabbi Wall Carranza described the 36-year-old as a "very sweet and loving woman." Speaking to KHOU, a CNN affiliate, she said: "[Moreno] had a particular kind of schizophrenia that caused her to become violent. She threatened her husband, my own son, and we still couldn't get intervention."

The motives for the shooting are still unknown.

This shooting isn't the first time those on the right have tried to create hysteria about "trans terrorism." Donald Trump Jr. falsely claimed that there had been "an incredible rise" in mass shootings perpetrated by trans people.

In reality, only four shootings have been perpetrated by trans people in the space of five years.

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