Republican politician Marjorie Taylor Greene has questioned if the July 4 mass shootings in Chicago were orchestrated to convince Republicans to support gun control measures.
"Here's what I have to say. I mean, two shootings on July 4th, one in a rich, white neighborhood and the other at a fireworks display," she said in a clip posted on Twitter by Patriot Takes, which monitors right-wing media.
"It almost sounds like it's designed to persuade Republicans to go along with more gun control.
"I mean, after all, remember, we didn't see that happen at all the Pride parades in the month of June."
The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, surrendered to police on Monday hours after the attack in Highland Park.
The suspect had planned the attack for several weeks, fired into the crowd at random from a rooftop and wore women's clothing on Monday in an apparent effort to mask his identity, Chris Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff's office, told reporters.
Greene attempted to claim not just July 4 - which is Independence Day in the US commemorating the Declaration of Independence - but the entire month in the name of Donald Trump.
"As soon as we hit MAGA month, as soon as we hit the month that we're all celebrating, loving our country, we have shootings on July 4th," said Greene.
"I mean, that's, you know, that would sound like a conspiracy theory, right? Of course. But what's the definition of right-wing conspiracy theory? Well, by the way, it's the news that's just six months early."
Greene's press office blamed the attention on her remarks on a left-leaning Twitter account, which it accused of spreading lies. She also tweeted a statement from her office insisting that "all the Congresswoman did was ask about the timing" without making a statement of fact about what happened.
Gun violence and mass shootings have been running rampant in the US in 2022.
There have already been more than 300 mass shootings in 2022 in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Mass shootings, where four or more people - not including the shooter - are injured or killed, have averaged more than one per day so far this year. Not a single week in 2022 has passed without at least four mass shootings.
