Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vermont), says he was 'sickened’ when he learned that the man who allegedly shot several people at a GOP baseball practice early Wednesday in Alexander, Virginia.
The shooter, James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois, apparently volunteered on Sander’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Members of Sander’s staff tweeted a letter Sanders intends to read from later Wednesday. They have told reporters that Sanders will not speak to them until later.
Sanders aides won't let reporters question him, hand out statement he will deliver on the floor pic.twitter.com/C3SAt4wvqG
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 14, 2017
This tweet was posted on Sanders’ Twitter account.
Our prayers go out for a full recovery of Rep. Scalise, the congressional aides and police who were injured. We’ve got to stop the violence.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 14, 2017
According to a story from The Washington Post, Charles Orear, 50, met and became friendly with Hodgkinson while campaigning for Sanders in Iowa. Orear said he had no idea that Hodgkinson would be involved in something like a shooting.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Orear said when told by phone. “I met him on the Bernie trail in Iowa, worked with him in the Quad Cities area.”
The story went on to say that Orear described Hodgkinson as a “quiet guy” who was “very mellow, very reserved” when they stayed overnight at a Sanders’s supporter home in Rock Island, Illinois.
The Daily Beast is reporting that Hodgkinson called Republicans "racist & sexist" on his Facebook page."Trump is a Traitor," Hodgkinson wrote in a May 22 Facebook post.
Cox Media Group
