Right-wing pundit and Tennessee GOP official called Highland Park and other mass shootings false flags
Written by Eric Hananoki
Published
Tennessee GOP official and congressional candidate Charlotte Bergmann recently said on her online program that the deadly July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, was a “planned” and false flag event designed to take away people’s guns. Bergmann has made similar remarks about other mass shootings, including after the Uvalde, Texas, tragedy.
Media Matters has reported on how right-wing media figures who have run for office have pushed conspiracy theories about mass shootings supposedly being false flags. Such conspiracy theories are popular with media figures like Alex Jones and have been spread through social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
The Tennessee Republican Party states on its website that Bergmann is a member of its State Executive Committee, which acts as the governing and policy board for the organization.
She is running for the U.S. House in Tennessee's 9th Congressional District after losing several other times in prior cycles. Media Matters previously documented that Bergmann is a QAnon supporter who cited “Q” in claiming that the 2018 mail pipe bomb attempts were false flags. On January 6, 2021, as the Daily Dot’s Claire Goforth noted, she tweeted: “So thankful that our militia rose up and defended our country against King George III. FREEDOM COMES WITH A COST.”
She has appeared on Fox News and co-wrote a book in 2019. She also hosts the online program Political Talk with Charlotte, which is streamed on Facebook.
On the day after the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, in which seven people were killed, Bergmann said on her show: “You cannot tell me that this was not planned.” She added that “the shooting is not just random. There is an agenda behind the shooting. There is an agenda. And that agenda is to make sure that our guns are taken away.”
Citation From the July 5, 2022, edition of Political Talk with Charlotte
CHARLOTTE BERGMANN (HOST): So what happens on yesterday when we are trying to celebrate the 4th of July? We have someone in Highland Park who [INAUDIBLE] shooting, and guys, you cannot tell me that this was not planned. You cannot tell me -- if you look at this guy. You look at this guy who actually did the shooting. You'd have to ask yourself, “What's up with that?” I don't know how much research they've done on the guy, but I will say that it is not it is not good. And we have to realize that the shooting is not just -- the shooting is not just random. There is an agenda behind the shooting. There is an agenda. And that agenda is to make sure that our guns are taken away. That agenda is to make sure that we do not – that we're not in a position to protect ourselves. Some of the survivors of the Highland Park mass shooting, they share graphic bloody images of their injuries. One lady said the rifle was spraying bullets in her direction. It was horrifying. She said, “I can't effing believe I was in the middle of a mass shooting.” Her name was Lily. And she showed a picture of the bullet grazing her face. You're not safe anywhere. And you can't wait for the police to come.
Bergmann has repeatedly claimed on Facebook that mass shootings are false flags.
On March 24, 2021, Bergmann portrayed “gun incidences” as an attempt to strip away “the 2nd Amendment to appease the UN.” Prior to her post that month, there were deadly mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and at three Asian-owned Atlanta-area spas.
On April 12, shortly after the mass shooting in a subway station in New York City, Bergmann wrote: “FALSE FLAG … right on time!”
