GOP candidates link Austin shooting to radical Islam
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Republican candidates in Tuesday's primary have called the weekend mass shooting in Austin an act of terror motivated by radical Islam, even as the FBI has yet to draw conclusions.
Why it matters: The statements issued by candidates at the top of the Republican ballot follow GOP efforts to target sharia law in Texas and label a prominent Muslim civil rights group as a terrorist organization.
Driving the news: The gunman in Sunday's shooting was wearing a "property of Allah" sweatshirt when he opened fire outside an Austin bar, killing two and injuring 14 others, according to law enforcement.
- Gov. Greg Abbott, who is running for a fourth term, called it an "act of terror." U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said, "Radical Islam has no place in Texas and our country." Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn, said the shooter could've been part of an Iranian "sleeper cell."
- The FBI said on the day of the shooting that it was investigating the violence as a possible terrorism incident but didn't elaborate.
The big picture: Republican candidates across the state are running on platforms to ban sharia law.
- U.S. Reps. Keith Self (R-McKinney) and Chip Roy (R-Austin), who are both on Texas ballots Tuesday, launched the Sharia Free America Caucus in December.
Catch up quick: Abbott designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, and the Muslim Brotherhood "foreign terrorist" organizations late last year.
- Paxton filed a lawsuit last month to stop both groups from operating in Texas.
- Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) introduced last month the Defeat Sharia Law in America Act, which would ban providing goods or services based on Muslim law as a violation of the Civil Rights Act.
- "Preventing sharia law in Texas" was among Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's legislative priorities released in January.
The other side: CAIR Texas sent a letter to state senators in February asking them to oppose Patrick's legislative priority, saying that the state and the country are governed by the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution.
- "There is no parallel judicial system operating in Texas," the organization wrote, adding that a sharia law takeover does not exist.
What they're saying: "The Texas state government repeatedly singling out Islamic religious practices and communities does not strengthen constitutional protections. Instead, it manufactures a fictional threat and then legislates against it," CAIR Texas wrote.
- Texas Democrats issued a statement last month condemning anti-Muslim rhetoric used by Abbott, Cornyn and Paxton.
- "Such fear-based politics have real consequences for families, neighbors, and civil rights in our state," the party wrote.
Threat level: "The rhetoric comes before the violence. That's what I'm afraid of," CAIR Texas interim executive director Mustafaa Carroll tells Axios.