2 hours after the mass shooting in Colorado, Rep. Lauren Boebert sent a campaign email encouraging supporters to say 'HELL NO' to gun control

Rep Lauren Boebert of Colorado
Screenshot via House Committee on Natural Resources

Rep. Lauren Boebert was tweeting about Biden while a mass shooting was unfolding in her home state.
Following the shooting that left ten dead, Boebert said she was praying for those affected.
The representative's campaign reportedly sent a pro-gun email to supporters two hours after the shooting.
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One of Congress' most ardent Second Amendment supporters is facing backlash after a series of insensitive communications following a mass shooting that left ten dead in a Boulder, Colorado supermarket on Monday.

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado has quickly made a name for herself as a pro-gun, right-wing ideologue during her short time in the House of Representatives, but her response to Monday's shooting in her home state drew sharp criticism.

Reports of an active shooter situation at a King Soopers grocery store began circulating shortly before 3 pm local time. Thirty minutes later, a local livestream of the scene showed officers detaining a handcuffed, shirtless man who was covered in blood.

But as local law enforcement, media outlets, and politicians were awaiting more information about the incident, Boebert was tweeting about the US Southern border and President Biden.

"The White House just called a lid at 1:13pm today. Biden is back in the basement, figuratively at least," she tweeted at 2:51 pm.

"Meanwhile, the country is in chaos and the border is coming apart at the seams," she wrote.

-Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 22, 2021

Following a swift barrage of Twitter users blasting Boebert for her timing, the freshman representative issued a statement addressing the shooting.

"My prayers are with the shoppers, employees, first responders & others affected by the shooting in Boulder," she tweeted. "May God be with them."

-Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 22, 2021

Amid an ongoing spew of mass shootings in recent years, the stump phrase "thoughts and prayers" has become the go-to-response for many politicians, instead of tangible policy changes to address the gun violence epidemic in the United States.

But Boebert, who has hinted she carries a gun to work in the US Capitol and has appeared at a virtual committee meeting in front of a multi-gun display, was quickly back to championing gun rights Monday night.

Two hours after the shooting, Boebert's campaign reportedly sent her supporters an email with a subject line that said, "I told Beto 'HELL NO' to taking our guns. Now we need to tell Joe Biden," according to a tweet from journalist David Gura.

-David Gura (@davidgura) March 23, 2021

"Radical liberals in Washington, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and with President Biden's blessing and support are trying to violate your due process and criminalize the private transfer of firearms," a photo Gura tweeted of the email said. "Please help me stand up to the radical gun-grabbing left."

She is the founder and owner of Shooters Grill, a Colorado restaurant infamous for staff that "proudly open carry as they serve their customers."

Boebert has been a vocal opponent of gun control and background checks, often sharing a bogus story about a man being "beaten to death" outside her gun-themed restaurant as an avenue to advocate for gun rights. The local police department debunked her claims after an autopsy showed the man had died from a drug overdose.

Insider has reached out to Boebert's campaign for comment.

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