*The National Rifle Association has been radio silent regarding Philando Castile, the 32-year-old, African American registered gun owner who was shot and killed by a Minnesota cop last July.
But Thursday morning saw a flurry of tweets from NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch that appear to blame Castile for his own death.
First she argued that Castile was not legally carrying his handgun at the time of the shooting, because he was also in possession of marijuana. Although Castile informed Officer Jeronimo Yanez that he had a concealed handgun and was reaching for his wallet, he was technically in violation of Minnesota’s concealed carry law at the time, said Loesch.
Two things: 1. Castile death was awful and avoidable. 2. Carrying firearm w controlled substance is not “lawful carry.” Important.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 10, 2017
Loesch, a white woman, also said that things might have gone differently if she’d been in Castile’s shoes, because she’d taken classes on how a concealed carry holder should act around police.
Not sure why that didn’t occur here. Permit should’ve been out & hands not moving, LEO should’ve asked where firearm was located.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 11, 2017
I’ve been pulled over while carrying and I had out my permit before officer got to the car. There is a reason they teach this in classes.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 11, 2017
When the Washington Examiner first reported on Loesch’s tweets Thursday, the NRA rep again took to Twitter to clarify that she was simply making observations as a private citizen, and not commenting in the capacity of an NRA spokeswoman.
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