A handful of GOP lawmakers are coming under fire for their responses to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsing after being struck by a cargo ship early Tuesday morning.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) called for a “serious investigation into the horrifying tragedy” before implying that the collapse may have been the result of an intentional attack.
“Is this an intentional attack or an accident?” she said. “Praying for the victims, survivors, and families.”
Baltimore Police Chief Richard Worley ruled out the collision being intentional during a news conference on Tuesday, saying, “There is absolutely no indication that there’s any terrorism, that this was done on purpose.”
Similarly, President Joe Biden said that “everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident” and “at this time, we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here.”
Greene’s speculation echoes posts from some of X’s most notorious right-wing conspiracists including InfoWars founder Alex Jones, who claimed a “cyber-attack is probable” and “WW3 has already started,” as well as Andrew Tate, who said that “foreign agents of the USA” are attacking “digital infrastructures” and “nothing is safe.”
Greene’s post was hit with an X Community Note and a flood of critical comments.
But Greene was not the only member of Congress whose reaction to the bridge’s collapse stoked outrage online.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-Georgia) posted on Tuesday morning that “Baltimore obviously won’t rename the new bridge after Francis Scott Key again,” the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“So, any guesses on the new bridge name?” Collins asked.
While Collins’ quip drew condemnation from many users, it did elicit some suggestions from right-wingers that ranged from “BLM Bridge” to “George Floyd Fentanyl Memorial Bridge.”
“A sitting Congressman and the chairman of Students for Trump getting some yuks in on the bridge collapse while 6 workers are presumed dead in the chilly waters below,” remarked reporter Jim Lokay of the exchange.
Current congressional candidate and former Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-Florida) offered another controversial response to the news.
“DEI did this,” Sabatini wrote without any further context.
“I think the 100K ton ship hitting the bridge did it to be honest,” replied one account to Sabatini.
“So, DEI caused a Singapore ship to lose its power? Would you care to elaborate?” asked another person.
“Did DEI do this too?” wrote another account, along with a screenshot of Sabatini’s 2022 primary election results, which he lost by 14%.
The ship put out a Mayday call before its collision that allowed bridge traffic to be stopped. No passenger vehicles were crossing at the time of collapse.
However, construction workers who were making repairs on the bridge were unable to get off. While two workers were rescued, six are now presumed dead.
Those six men are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and were in their 30s and 40s—all with spouses and children, according to the Baltimore Banner.
“They are all hard-working, humble men,” Jesus Campos, an employee of contractor Brawner Builders, told the Banner.
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