In the wake of the Abundant Life Christian School shooting on December 16, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin, that left three dead – a student, a teacher, and the 15-year-old shooter Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow – and injured six others, extremists across the internet are spreading conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated claims about the motivations of the shooter. This misinformation has included allegations that the American political left and Democrats are responsible for the attack; that the shooter was a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a leftist extremist; that Christians were specifically targeted, and that the shooting was a "false flag" designed to justify taking away the freedoms of Americans, or to distract from the drones being spotted across the east coast of the United States.
Additionally, an unconfirmed document purporting to be a manifesto written by the shooter was published on X (formerly Twitter) and has been reposted by extremists and used to inform their understanding of the shooter's motivations, further leading to unsubstantiated claims about Rupnow's ideology. However, doubts have been raised as to the authenticity and origin of the document, and there are significant inconsistencies in the language and supposed method of discovery of the document that have cast uncertainty on its legitimacy. Police say they are investigating the authenticity of the document.
The following report will highlight extremist reactions to the shooting from across social media, including conspiracy theories and allegations of a false flag attack.
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Neo-Nazis And Antisemitic Homophobic Extremists Spread Unconfirmed Theories: Some Blame The Left, Some Call The Shooting A False Flag
On Gab, an ultranationalist and COVID conspiracy theorist commented on the Abundant Life Christian School shooting in Madison on December 16, 2024, alleging that the attack was a targeted attack against Christians by left-wing extremists. The user's post asked, "Another violent attack on Christians by left wing extremists?"
Another Gab user, an antisemitic Covid conspiracy theorist and Christian extremist, also spread a conspiracy that the shooting was conducted by the "Deep State." The user wrote on December 16: "Looks like another false flag mass shooting of Christian Children in Minnesota. Seems the devil worshipping child sacrificing deep State is still trying to get people to give up their guns and lose all freedoms. Don't let them. Keep waking zooms up about the fact that false flag psyops now control the population by getting people to believe this satanic ritual is carried out by God fearing citizens. Hogwash!"
An antisemitic homophobic extremist published several posts on Gab blaming the Madison shooting on trans people and the American political left. In one post from December 17, the user published a post from vaccine denier and covid conspiracist which spread numerous false claims, including that the shooter was a transperson and that the FBI was editing an alleged manifesto by the shooter. The antisemitic homophobic extremist captioned their repost: "ALL TRANNIES MUST BE DETAINED AND SENT TO DEPROGRAMMING CAMPS BEFORE ONE MORE CHILD DIES," continuing the unsupported claim that the shooter was trans.
Unconfirmed Shooter Manifesto Circulates On The Internet – Neo-Nazi Extremists Repost
On Telegram on December 17, a neo-Nazi channel posted an unsubstantiated manifesto with their unfounded conclusions that "the shooter was a lesbian" and that "the girl that she liked dated a 'n***er'" which provoked the shooter into firing. In another post on Telegram, the neo-Nazi channel said: "Basic: Shoots up school Mid: Is a lesbian Femcel: her crush is being railed by a n***er."
This unverified manifesto was originally published by an X user on December 16.
However, the authenticity of this manifesto is unverified. Furthermore, its original poster is a xenophobic pro-Turkish woman and Russian sympathizer with anti-Ukrainian, anti-Arab, and anti-"woke"/left, sentiments. She frequently comments on, and criticizes political, social, and judicial events in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Europe. The user is also the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of a homophobic online magazine that overwhelmingly reports on crimes committed by transpeople and the LGBTQ+ community.
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