A Georgia lawmaker who claimed she was a victim of a racist attack in a grocery store expressed support for Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz in a now-deleted tweet.
Erica Thomas tweeted two days after the Parkland shooting, which claimed the lives of 17 people, that she felt sympathy for the shooter and thanked God for getting her “through the system.” In her tweet was the hashtag “prayfornik,” referring to the shooter.
“My heart goes out to Nikolas Cruz!! Some don’t know how to cope with being an orphan,” said Thomas. “I thank God everyday for getting me through the system in one piece. #FloridaShooting #mentalhealth #PrayforDouglas #prayfornik.”
The alleged shooter, Nikolas Cruz, murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School while injuring over a dozen other innocent people. Cruz was later captured and now faces 17 counts of premeditated murder. If he is convicted he faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty.
Several political pundits on Twitter made note of the lawmaker’s tweet from February of last year.
Hi @itsericathomas. It’s been quite a week for you. Hopefully you’ve learned a lot this week.
Let’s review 3 things we all hope you’ve learned:
1. There are cameras EVERYWHERE.
2. 10 items or less MEANS 10 items or less.
and finally
3. The Internet is forever. https://t.co/k6VTEiPg9q pic.twitter.com/gePBKftptp
— Ryan Petty (@rpetty) July 23, 2019
“My heart goes out to Nikolas Cruz!!” – Erica Thomas, Georgia Democrat, commenting on the Parkland school shooting.https://t.co/LPwDOi73Xk pic.twitter.com/o64Xtmhkk9
— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) July 22, 2019
Huh pic.twitter.com/zQ53lL4oDR
— Ben (@BenHowe) July 23, 2019
Over the last week, Thomas received national attention when she claimed she was a victim of racially-charged verbal harassment in a grocery store by a white male who told her “to go back where you came from.” She posted an emotional video to Facebook detailing her encounter.
WATCH:
The lawmaker later appeared to backtrack on her original claim that she was told to go back to where she came from. (RELATED: Georgia Democratic Lawmaker Appears To Be Caught Lying About Alleged Racist Encounter)
“I don’t want to say he said, ‘Go back to your country,’ or ‘Go back to where you came from,’” Thomas said. “But he was making those types of references is what I remember.”
Erica Thomas wanted to make sure that people didn’t think she was “backtracking on her statement”
…So I made a supercut of her backtracking on her statement multiple times. #HateHoax pic.twitter.com/D7Xq5kN1nO
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) July 22, 2019
Thomas’s office did not respond for comment at the time of publishing.