Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Sunday pushed back against White House official Sebastian Gorka, accusing him of trying to divert attention from the tragic Minneapolis Catholic school shooting by emphasizing the shooter’s transgender identity.
Gorka, who serves as a deputy assistant to President Trump and senior director for counterterrorism, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union where he argued that the gunman, Robin Westman, had an “ideological” motive for targeting Annunciation Catholic School. The attack left two students dead and injured over a dozen others during a morning Mass.
“That’s what terrorism is,” Gorka said, citing a manifesto allegedly written by Westman that included antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiments, as well as the phrase “kill Donald Trump” written on one of the gun magazines. Gorka further linked the shooting to what he described as a broader pattern of violence involving individuals with gender identity struggles.
“In just a couple of years, we’ve seen seven mass shootings involving people who are transgender or experiencing gender identity confusion,” Gorka claimed. “That is inordinately high.”
While asserting that the issue is not about “sexual proclivities,” Gorka maintained that there is a “very disturbing pattern” of violence that has gone largely unaddressed.
He referenced several recent high-profile cases involving transgender or nonbinary shooters, including:
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The 2023 shooting at a Nashville Christian school, which killed six people including three children. The shooter identified as transgender.
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The 2022 mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub, in which five people were killed and dozens injured. The suspect identifies as nonbinary, according to legal filings.
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A 2019 shooting at a Denver-area school and a 2018 attack at a Rite Aid facility in Maryland, both involving individuals identified as transgender.
Rep. Omar, who appeared on CNN following Gorka, condemned his focus on Westman’s gender identity.
“It’s really unfortunate to have people like him speaking on this,” Omar told host Brianna Keilar. “He talked about their transgenderness, and then says it shouldn’t matter. These people are all over the place because they want to deflect from the reality.”
“That reality,” Omar continued, “is that someone broke into a school, through a window, and assassinated two beautiful angels as they prayed.”
She argued that this is not the time for political finger-pointing but rather for action on gun violence, calling for an assault weapons ban and increased investment in mental health services.
When asked whether Westman’s gender identity should be investigated as part of the shooter’s motive, Omar said all relevant factors should be considered.
“I’ve always said it’s important to look at every angle — to understand what happened, what signs were missed, and how we can prevent tragedies like this in the future,” she said.