Candace Owens Laughs Off New Zealand Mosque Shooter Manisfesto Reference

American conservative commentator and political activist Candace Owens responded to being referred by one of the shooters behind New Zealand’s Christchurch mosque attacks late Thursday (Friday in New Zealand), which killed 49 people and injured 20 more.

The Australian gunman, Brenton Tarrant – a name not officially confirmed but reported by the country’s media – called her his primary inspiration behind the terrorist attack in a presently-deleted 73-page manifesto.

“LOL! FACT: I’ve never created any content espousing my views on the 2nd Amendment or Islam. The Left pretending I inspired a mosque massacre in...New Zealand because I believe black America can do it without government handouts is the reachiest reach of all reaches!! LOL!” she wrote in a series of tweets. “HAHA OMG you racist Leftists are taking your racism and crazy to a whole new level hahah. 'Black people don’t have to be Democrats' now means...mosque shootings in New Zealand? This clearly won’t stick but damn if I won’t grow #BLEXIT highlighting your sheer desperation.”

In a third tweet she wrote, “To be clear: We played the ‘Candace is Hitler’ game. We played the ‘Candace is anti-rape victims’ game. If the media attempts this ‘Candace inspired a mosque shooting in New Zealand’ bit — they better all lawyer the f--k up. I will go full Covington Catholic lawsuit. Try me.”

In excerpts of the manifesto that read like a questionnaire, Owens’ name came up as an answer to the question, “If there a particular person that radicalized you the most?”

“Yes the person that had influenced me above all was Candace Owens. Each time she spoke I was stunned by her insights and her own views helped me further and further into the belief of violence over meekness. Though I will have to disavow some of her beliefs, the extreme actions she calls for are too much, even for my tastes,” the manifesto read.

However, some experts weighed in regarding the discourse of the manifesto and opined that the gunman might have written it with the purpose of trolling American media, and hence references to Owens, or for that matter, President Donald Trump – who was also mentioned in the manifesto – should not be taken seriously.

“There are a couple of things in there that ring obvious bells. No joke, call somebody fluent in YouTube or alt-right garbage before writing up your pieces on this. Or just ignore it. Some of these thoughts are clearly authentic, others clear traps. It’s the nature of the chans [Sic],” NBC’s Ben Collins tweeted.

On the other hand, New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose tweeted: “Media: be careful with the NZ shooter’s apparent manifesto. It’s thick with irony and meta-text and very easy to misinterpret if you’re not steeped in this stuff all the time (and even if you are).”

Others also denounced the content of the manifesto and defended Owens:

Owens is the director of communications at the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA, who is known for her pro-Trump stance and her criticism of Black Lives Matter and of the Democratic Party. Her Twitter page is filled with controversial tweets.