In the early hours that followed yet another mass shooting in the United States – this time targeting an outlet mall in Allen, Texas – rumours and speculation spread about the shooter’s identity and motives. Two competing narratives arose: one of the shooter as a white supremacist, representing another violent racist attack; the other, of a Hispanic gunman, feeding into fears about immigration and violence.As more information emerged about the gunman, eventually identified as a 33-year-old former US Army recruit named Mauricio Garcia, the two narratives merged. The shooter, while not an illegal immigrant, was indeed Hispanic. He was also a vocal white supremacist who revelled in neo-Nazi paraphernalia and posted messages online about a coming race war. The revelation of a Latino neo-Nazi elicited a host of reactions, from anger to confusion to incredulity.That mix of anger and disbelief was recently repeated when 19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula was arrested after crashing a U-Haul van into a barrier near the White House while carrying a Nazi flag. Kandula, an Indian American man from Missouri, later discussed with authorities his plan to attack President Biden, and his admiration for Hitler. Add to these incidents a variety of cases that range from Enrique Tarrio, the Afro-Cuban American leader of the Proud Boys, to the Nazi propaganda of the artist formerly known as Kanye West. All point to a real and potentially growing phenomenon: white supremacy is not only perpetuated by white people.
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