A shooting at San Diego’s largest mosque that left at least five people dead on Monday, including the suspected perpetrators, is being investigated as a possible hate crime linked to white supremacist extremism, according to local authorities.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, released a report last month that documented a 1,450% surge in anti-Muslim social media posts by Republican elected officials from February 2025 to March 2026.
“Islamophobia is an acceptable form of hate in the United States,” Saylor says. “A large number of elected officials, whether it be Randy Fine from Florida, Keith Self or Chip Roy, both from Texas, have smeared Muslims.”