After a shooting at Brown University left two dead, right-wing media figures launched a baseless and Islamophobic campaign to falsely tie a Palestinian student to the killings.
Andrea Austria / Media Matters
Research/Study
After the Brown University shooting, right-media baselessly attacked a Palestinian student as a suspect
Written by Gideon Taaffe & Jack Winstanley
Published
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Following a shooting at Brown University, a Palestinian student was wrongly blamed on social media for the attack and doxxed, leading to a barrage of death threats and hate speech
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- On December 13, two people were killed and nine others injured in a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The two students killed were identified as Mukhammad Umurzokov, a freshman, and Ella Cook, vice president of Brown’s chapter of the College Republicans of America. [The Guardian, 12/15/25]
- The suspected shooter was found dead on December 18 in a storage facility in New Hampshire. A Portuguese man who briefly studied at Brown University in the early 2000s was identified as the suspected shooter. Authorities also suspect the man was responsible for the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. [NBC News, 12/18/25, 12/18/25]
- During the manhunt for the shooter, Brown University appeared to remove several web pages containing mentions of Mustapha Kharbouch, a student targeted by social media figures as a potential suspect, “as a safety measure” after he was apparently doxxed. Kharbouch was not named as a suspect by police, but social media figures claimed he was the person of interest in closed-circuit television footage, with several claiming that the deletion of pages was part of a conspiracy to shield him. The university responded that the pages were removed as a “safety measure,” however, and called the speculation “dangerous for the safety of individuals in our community.” The university noted, “In the aftermath of the shooting, we’ve seen harmful doxxing activity directed toward at least one member of the Brown University community.” [The Providence Journal, 12/17/25]
- Kharbouch released a statement in conjunction with his legal team noting that the “disturbing, racist, and hateful campaign to connect him to the tragedy carried out on Brown’s campus” had “not only smeared Mustapha,” but had “likely distracted law enforcement from pursuing legitimate leads” and had led to death threats. “The past few days have been an unimaginable nightmare,” Kharbouch said, adding, “Instead of grieving with my community in the aftermath of the horrible shooting, I received non-stop death threats and hate speech.” [Bluesky, 12/19/25]
- During a press conference, Col. Darnell Weaver of the Rhode Island State Police criticized online speculation about the shooting, saying, “The endless barrage of misinformation, disinformation, rumors, leaks, and clickbait were not helpful in this investigation.” He added, “Criminal investigations are grounded in evidence, not speculation or online commentary.” [YouTube, 12/19/25]
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Several right-wing media figures suggested Brown University student Mustapha Kharbouch was the shooter, with several claiming that the university was attempting to shield his identity
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- Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson claimed that Brown University “seems to be completely removing Free Palestine activist Mustapha Kharbouch off its website in real time.” He called it “very strange.” [Twitter/X, 12/16/25]
- On his show, Johnson said, “There are some major reports out of a known individual who has ties to Palestinian liberation movements and to radical Islamic movements who is a well-known member of the Brown University Student Assembly, an activist." Johnson added, “Their entire history is being scrubbed from the internet. Nobody knows why. Brown says they're taking down all of the public statements, images, photos, reports, publications, and articles on this individual, who seems to, of course, match the body type description of the shooter. Again we don't know. Innocent until proven guilty.” [Rumble, The Benny Show, 12/17/25]
- Right-wing podcaster and self-proclaimed “Islamophobe” Laura Loomer did not specifically say Kharbouch was the shooter, but she claimed to have found a YouTube channel with the same name that featured “Islamic videos and Islamic playlists and videos that teach how to build electronic devices at home with wires.” Loomer continued, writing, “@BrownUniversity is actively scrubbing their website and deleting all mentions of Mustapha Kharbouch, who was studying in the International & Public Affairs and Anthropology Department at Brown University with a focus on the Middle East. His bio says he is a third-generation ‘Palestinian refugee’ who was born and raised in Lebanon. Photos online show he was an active member of Students for Justice in Palestine at Brown University. He also has ‘they/he’ pronouns in his X bio.” [Twitter/X, 12/16/25; Media Matters, 8/14/24]
- On her show, Loomer said, “And there now appears to be a massive cover-up pertaining to the identity of a Muslim student, a Muslim foreign student named Mustapha Kharbouch.” She added, “Not saying that he is the shooter.” [Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 12/17/25]
- Infowars host Alex Jones said he’s not “going to say his name at this time” but noted that photos of and references to someone who was a “dead ringer” for the shooter had been “scrubbed” from Brown University’s websites. Jones further accused the police and the school of a cover-up. [Twitter/X, 12/17/25]
- On Real America’s Voice’s American Sunrise Early Edition, host Jake Novak said that “they’re not even letting you say his name, but I’ll say his name. And again, I’m not saying he’s the shooter, I’m just saying he should have a lot of investigations going on about him. His name is Mustapha Kharbouch.” Novak added that questions about Kharbouch’s alleged involvement in the shooting were “angrily turned aside” by law enforcement and that it “feels like a cover-up” to protect Kharbouch. [Real America’s Voice, American Sunrise Early Edition, 12/17/25]
- On War Room, January 6 organizer Caroline Wren claimed there was a “credible” theory online about a guy that’s a “big free Palestine activist, big LGBTQ activist on campus, who’s written insane manifestos.” She added, “What I don’t get” is “why wouldn’t you just come out and say, Hey, it’s not me.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 12/17/25; Politico, 7/9/25]
- Right-wing pundit Jack Posobiec posted, “Has Brown University identified a suspect? Was just looking at something on their website and suddenly the page got deleted. What's going on?” [Twitter/X, 12/16/25]
- On War Room, Posobiec claimed, “One of the guys who people are looking at, that this guy might be some kind of Muslim, might be some kind of migrant,” adding, “He matched the profile that people were looking at.” Host Steve Bannon added, “The pepes were all over this today” because “this stuff is being taken down during the day.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 12/16/25]
- Right-wing blog National File: “Brown University Scrubs Radical Pro-Jihad Activist’s Profile Amid Deadly Shooting Speculation.” The National File claimed, “Unconfirmed reports identify Mustapha Kharbouch, a radical pro-Jihad Palestinian activist and Brown University student, as the prime suspect in the December 13 campus shooting.” [National File, 12/16/25]
- Right-wing influencer Joshua Hall posted: “Brown University, Rhode Island shooting suspect has been identified as Mustapha Kharbouch, a radical Islamic, pro-Jihad student at Brown whose X account has suddenly mysteriously disappeared.” He continued, “This is why the Democrat authorities in Providence and mainstream media has been covering up his identity from us… It’s not a very good look/narrative for them. Kharbouch has reportedly now fled the university and is missing… BRING HIM TO SWIFT AMERICAN JUSTICE. We are at war with Islam.” [Twitter/X, 12/16/25]
- Venture capitalist and right-wing influencer Shaun Maguire named Kharbouch and wrote, “It seems very likely that the Brown shooter was an ardent pro Palestine activist of Palestinian heritage.” He continued, “Brown is actively scrubbing his online presence; a student they formerly celebrated. The West is ablaze with terror attacks and it was all predictable.” [Twitter/X, 12/17/25]