Fox News host Sean Hannity, who has a cozy relationship with President Donald Trump, didn't wait for the gun smoke in Maryland to clear before linking the deadly Capital Gazette newsroom shooting with Rep. Maxine Waters' rhetoric.
Hannity was on the radio hosting his "The Sean Hannity Show" on Thursday when an unidentified gunman opened fire at around 3 p.m., killing at least five people inside the newspaper's building.
Hannity said he refused to turn the event into a gun debate, before going on the offensive against Waters, a California Democrat.
"I've been saying now for days that something horrible was going to happen because of the rhetoric. Really, Maxine?"
He was referring to remarks from Waters over the weekend suggesting that Democrats publicly confront Trump administration officials and, "Tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere."
"You want people to call your friends, get in their faces," Hannity said, repeating Waters' comments.
Hannity later accused "certain members of the media" of butchering his comments.
"Sean Hannity never tied today's horrific shooting to the comments made by Rep. Maxine Waters. Today's event was pure evil, and no one can control someone who is intent on inflicting pain and violence," his site read.
Earlier this week, Trump falsely claimed that Waters had called for "harm" to his supporters.
"Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party. She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!" Trump tweeted Monday.
Hannity also called her "utterly psychotic and unhinged."
The Annapolis shooter's motivation remains unknown at this point.
