Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Muslims 'snakes' in misleading tweet about protests in France

03 July 2023

United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) on Monday authored an Islamophobic tweet in response to the ongoing protests in France over the Tuesday, June 27th slaying of a seventeen-year-old by law enforcement.

"Pay attention America!!! France has strict gun control laws and they are under siege of a radical Islamic violent uprising destroying France and overwhelming their police. Muslims migrated to France over the past two decades and France took them in while making it difficult for the people of France to own guns for self protection. We need strict immigration laws and strong borders and always defend our great second amendment rights. Do not import criminals and religious radicals and strip your citizens of their God given right to defend themselves," Greene wrote. "Beware of taking in snakes!"

Attached to Greene's post was a video of former President Donald Trump's Sunday speech in Pickens, South Carolina, where he recited Al Wilson's The Snaketo disparage undocumented immigrants.

The congresswoman grossly distorted the facts about the unrest in France.

"A police officer shot dead the teenager, Nahel, who was of Algerian heritage, during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre," CNN explained on Sunday. "Footage of the incident captured by a passerby showed two officers standing on the driver's side of the car, one of whom discharged his gun at the driver despite not appearing to face any immediate threat. The officer said he fired his gun because he was scared the boy would run someone over with the car, Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said. Prache said that it is believed the officer acted illegally in using his weapon. He is currently facing a formal investigation for voluntary homicide and has been placed in preliminary detention."

Nahel's family has called for an end to the violence, which has resulted in hundreds of arrests and led to an assassination attempt on L'Haÿ-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun and his wife.

Greene also misrepresented France's relationship with guns.

In May 2022, Frenchly pointed out that "the number of firearm deaths (including homicides, suicides and accidents) is around 2.5 people per 100,000 inhabitants in France each year. In the United States, this rate is more than 12 per 100,000 inhabitants. Therefore, there are about 5 times more people who die each year from firearms in the United States than in France."

Reuters further noted in May 2023 that "France has strict gun ownership laws but the arsenal of weapons used by Islamist militants in synchronized attacks on Paris venues in November 2015 demonstrated how difficult it is tackle the flow of illegal arms across Europe's porous borders. Ownership of military-grade guns is banned in France. Individuals who want to own a weapon with a removable magazine with a capacity larger than three rounds must undergo annual mental physical and health checks. Hunting weapons must be registered and owners must undertake a full day of theory exams."

From Your Site Articles