It Could Happen Here: The Weaponization of Mass Shootings

Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media, iHeartPodcasts)
Date: October 8, 2025
Host/Narrator: Garrison Davis (with context from the wider team: Robert Evans, Mia Wong, James Stout)

Overview

This episode delves into how mass shootings in the U.S. are rapidly and cynically weaponized by both political actors and media. Through the lens of several 2025 mass shootings, host Garrison Davis explores the urge to assign ideological blame before facts are known, the partisan manipulation of violence, and the core reality: most mass shootings are not neatly reducible to left-versus-right narratives, but are complex events rooted in social breakdown, alienation, and American gun culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Grand Blanc, Michigan Mormon Church Shooting (01:53–06:23)

• Incident Recap:
  On September 28, a 40-year-old Marine veteran shot 12 people (killing 4) and set fire to a Mormon church in Michigan, before being killed by police.
• Immediate Political Framing:
  National and right-wing media quickly framed the attack as another example of anti-Christian persecution, even as the building was still burning.
  • Quote/Attribution:
    “This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians.” — White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt on Fox and Friends [02:38]
  • Right-wing influencers (e.g., Benny Johnson on X) posted: “Church is on fire. Christianity is under attack. Pray.” [02:46]
• Facts Contradict the Narrative:
  The shooter was a Christian Trump supporter with an obsession against Mormons, stemming from a personal grievance due to a breakup.
  • “This was a classic American shooting… a Marine veteran… got involved with a Mormon woman, had negative experiences... continued to have very strong anti Mormon sentiments...” — Garrison Davis [05:35]
• Weaponization and Disinformation:
  As more details emerged, the Trump administration and conservative outlets shifted focus or spread misinformation, doctoring photos and attributing fabricated left-wing affiliations to the shooter.

2. The Cycle of Blame: Binary Weaponization of Violence (06:51–08:24)

• Partisan Simplification:
  Media and politicians immediately seek to label shooters by political leaning, using each incident as a cudgel against opponents.
  • Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker blamed “irresponsible politicians,” but offered no relevance to this specific case. [06:23]
  • “Both politicians and the media have this obsession with only talking about shooters insofar as they can try to identify a shooter's orientation towards a political party and then weaponize that suspected orientation…” — Garrison Davis [06:51]
• Examples of Competitive Framing:
  Each side rushes to define even ambiguous cases as “leftist” or “right-wing”—ignoring nuance, context, and individual motivation.

3. Other Recent Mass Shootings: Motives & Media Spin (08:24–13:15)

• Midtown Manhattan NFL Offices Shooting:
  A July shooting targeting NFL offices was motivated by the shooter’s belief that football gave him CTE; no ideological motive.
  • “No clear ideological motivations here.” — Garrison Davis [08:24]
• Leftist Shooters?
  The only recent attacker that could accurately be called “leftist” was a former PSL member who assassinated two Israeli embassy staff. [13:15]
• The ‘Kirk Assassination’ and Bill Maher/Ben Shapiro Exchange:
  Media debates (referencing the assassination of Charlie Kirk) featured figures like Ben Shapiro and Bill Maher arguing over premature ideological assignments.
  • Memorable Exchange:
    • Ben Shapiro: “We do know that... this kid was of the political left. That is according to contemporaneous reporting...”
    • Bill Maher: “Today, it’s two days out. We don’t know shit... The Internet is undefeated in getting it wrong to begin with.” [13:59–14:44]

4. Personal Motives vs. Ideological Narrative (15:30–21:29)

• Personal/Idiosyncratic Motives:
  High-profile shootings, including attempts on politicians, often turn out to be driven by personal issues, social alienation, or mental health struggles—not ideological extremism.
  • “Just because the target of violence is a political figure does not mean that it’s political violence.” — Garrison Davis [15:30]
• Role of Online Shooter Communities:
  Some perpetrators are inspired by “True Crime Community” or mass-shooter fandoms online, further complicating motives.
• Dallas ICE Office Shooting:
  In a copycat act, a shooter targeting ICE wrote “anti-ICE” messages but was described by friends as a “libertarian leaning 4chan edgelord” who hated both parties.
  • “Friends believed that the bullet inscriptions could have been written as a joke intended to rile people up.” — Garrison Davis [18:45–19:33]
• Societal Factors:
  Access to guns, social isolation, and a drive for self-annihilation are recurrent themes in these cases.

5. The Real Impact: Authoritarian Crackdowns and Manipulation of Narrative (26:20–29:31)

• State Response:
  Politicians use the confusion and fear generated by such violence to justify surveillance, crackdowns, and suppression—often targeting perceived political opponents.
  • “...partisan rhetoric on targeted violence and political violence is in service of authoritarian crackdowns and enhanced surveillance against their political opposition…” — Garrison Davis [27:59]
• Recent Example:
  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched 'undercover operations' to infiltrate “leftist terror cells,” echoing national policies targeting a range of left-coded beliefs and protests.
• Selectivity in Outrage:
  A mass shooting by another Iraq veteran at a North Carolina bar received little attention because it lacked a culture war angle, demonstrating selective media amplification.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the rush to frame violence ideologically:
  “Both politicians and the media have this obsession with only talking about shooters insofar as they can try to identify a shooter's orientation towards a political party and then weaponize that suspected orientation…” — Garrison Davis [06:51]

• On the Bill Maher—Ben Shapiro clash:
  “Today, it’s two days out. We don’t know shit. ...The Internet is undefeated in getting it wrong to begin with.” — Bill Maher [14:22]
  “A minute ago you were sure what he was.” — Bill Maher [15:23]
  “Hold on, Bill, hold on. Okay. Because I mean…” — Ben Shapiro [15:25]

• On personal vs. political motive:
  “Just because the target of violence is a political figure does not mean that it’s political violence…” — Garrison Davis [15:30]

• On state exploitation of tragedy:
  “...they are more than happy to simply pick and choose and magnify and obscure various events to fit their preferred version of reality.” — Garrison Davis [26:57]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:53] — Grand Blanc, Michigan, Mormon church shooting and rapid politicization
• [06:23] — Chris Swecker’s Fox News blame and the partisan blame game
• [08:24] — Midtown Manhattan NFL offices shooting; non-ideological motive
• [13:15] — The only recent 'leftist' shooter and Maher–Shapiro ideological spat
• [15:30] — The myth that all political acts of violence are ideological
• [18:45] — The ICE office shooter and anti-ICE bullet casings
• [26:20] — State crackdowns and narrative manipulation
• [27:59] — Policy responses and “anti-leftist terror” rhetoric

Tone & Language

The episode maintains an ironic, sharp, and occasionally sardonic tone. The narration is both critical and analytical, blending tragic detail with wry commentary. There is an undercurrent of frustration toward both the bipartisan political class and the media’s reductionist framing of violence.

Takeaways

• Most mass shootings in America are cynically leveraged by political actors for their own narratives, regardless of the perpetrator’s actual motivations.
• Media and government responses to shootings are often more about reinforcing culture war narratives and justifying increased state power than about understanding root causes.
• The reality of mass shootings is far more complex, driven by social alienation, personal trauma, and America’s unique gun environment, not simply partisan politics.
• Selective outrage and amplification by media and politicians highlight which tragedies become fodder for national debate and which are quickly forgotten.
• The cycle of tragedy, political exploitation, and crackdowns erodes public trust, narrows public discourse, and enhances authoritarian tendencies—without ever addressing the underlying causes of violence.