Ted Cruz Makes Reference To Zodiac Killer Meme

The infamous Zodiac Killer, the serial killer who killed at least five people in northern California in the last 1960s and early 1970s, was referenced in a playful manner Wednesday between Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ben Sasse of Nebraska after Attorney General Jeff Sessions' hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

After a contentious exchange between Sessions and Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, Sasse opened his questionnaire to Sessions with a confession.

"There was some drama there. Sorry to have added to the drama and distracted you for a minute," Sasse said. "I was paying enough attention there that I dumped a Dr. Pepper on Sen. Cruz — so that's what was distracting us on this side of the dais."

Twitter erupted in commentary when news broke of the spill. Some wondered whether it was really an accident, while Cruz joined in by poking fun that he was the Zodiac Killer. Cruz was born in 1970, while the first confirmed killing by the Zodiac Killer was in 1968. Nevertheless, Cruz has been the subject of many memes that point to him as the Zodiac Killer.

There was also a reference on Twitter to President Donald Trump's assertion in May 2016 that Cruz's father was seen with John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

After one Twitter user commented that he would've done much worse if he was sitting next to "the son of the guy who killed Kennedy," Sasse jokingly responded on the social media site a comment that read "full disclosure: i was wearing a 'Lee Harvey Oswald was framed' t-shirt."

Cruz then chimed in with an image strikingly similar to the cryptic notes left by the Zodiac Killer.

Viral memes of Cruz being the Zodiac Killer began circulating during the 2016 presidential campaign. Those who support the conspiracy theory see the sketch of the infamous serial killer having similarities to the senator.

Actor Tom McKay later tweeted his translation of the Zodiac symbols in light of Cruz's "liking" of a pornographic video on Twitter in September.