A Surrey BC Conservative candidate is facing renewed pressure to drop out of the race after more offensive social media comments surfaced.
But in a statement posted to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), South Surrey candidate Brent Chapman says he has no plans to withdraw.
The latest comments were uncovered by CKNW radio host Jas Johal, and show Chapman appearing to question whether a number of high-profile mass shootings, including the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, Quebec City mosque shooting and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando really happened.
“Something is off,” Chapman wrote in the 2017 Facebook post shared by Johal.
Chapman goes on to say that the recent incidents all have “things in common,” including that they “all have sketchy stories that change drastically from initial events,” and are all “mysteriously” connected to “a current political debate,” and to question eye-witness accounts.
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“Look, I hope no one was actually killed at any of these events, but in the Orlando night club shooting, the people that talked to the press were not actually shot,” he adds.
Chapman posted a statement shortly after midnight stating that the Quebec, Aurora, Orlando and Sandy Hook attacks “were all very real mass shootings.”
He went on to say that what he actually meant in the post was that “the whirlwind of US media and commentary makes everything chaotic and confusing to people watching the TV. People’s understanding of what’s going on changes from moment to moment and it’s all just so difficult to understand.”
“Sadly, these mass shooting incidents and the deaths they have caused are all very real. I sincerely wish they weren’t, because they’re horrific and needless tragedies.”
Chapman went on to say that following legal advice he won’t comment further on “this matter or any other matter related to social media posts from years ago.”
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BC NDP Leader David Eby responded to the issue Monday, calling on the BC Conservatives to fire Chapman.
“Six worshippers were murdered in Quebec City, 20 children and six teachers were slaughtered at Sandy Hook, and 49 people were killed in Orlando. These tragedies shattered lives. John Rustad’s candidate says they were faked to further political agendas including gun control,” Eby said.
Asked about the comments on Monday, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad said Chapman had since clarified his comments.
“(He) came out with a number of posts that quite frankly I find offensive, that are wrong, that don’t reflect the values for myself personally and they don’t reflect the values for us as the conservative party,” he said.
But Rustad said given that Chapman had retained legal counsel, it would be “inappropriate for me to say more.”
Last week, Chapman was forced to apologize after decade-old Facebook posts emerged that showed him making racist comments about Muslims and describing Palestinians as “little inbred walking talking breathing time bombs.”
The B.C. Muslim Association has called on Chapman to resign over the comments.
Rustad said he and Muslim caucus members had accepted the apology.
Rustad later said it would be up to voters to decide how to judge controversial comments from his candidates.