RantCrush Top 5: January 31, 2017

The police have one suspect in custody after the deadly shooting at a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday night. Alexandre Bissonnette is a white French-Canadian student who is 27 years old and reportedly a fan of Donald Trump and France’s national-conservative politician Marine Le Pen. Classmates describe him as a “nerdy outcast” and said that he was inspired by a “borderline racist nationalist movement.” He supported Trump’s harsh views on immigration. Bissonnette is now charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon.

After the Guardian described Bissonnette as a “lone wolf,” Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling reacted strongly and called the paper out for its coverage:

He. Is. A. Terrorist. Not. A. Lone. Wolf. pic.twitter.com/OO3qDGhzwr

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 30, 2017

Trump has stayed silent on the issue on Twitter. However, the White House bizarrely cited the attack to justify its Muslim ban by saying, “it’s a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation’s safety and security.” But somehow it seems unlikely that Trump would issue a similar ban on Christian French-Canadians.

Sean Spicer uses Quebec shooting to justify travel ban.

Even though the suspect is non-Muslim and a Trump fan… https://t.co/2zbpBsSEcU pic.twitter.com/vtbkkRYZD6

— Complex (@Complex) January 31, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.