Stephen King has spent decades showing us the darkness lurking behind small-town charm, the monsters that take human form, and the unspeakable evils that thrive in the shadows.
But when King sees something horrific in real life, he calls it out with the precision of a scalpel. This week, Laura Loomer was on the receiving end of King’s razor-sharp critique. The author of The Shining and It took to Twitter to address a far more insidious real-world horror: the rise of inflammatory political rhetoric. King didn’t mince words. “Anyone who speaks of ‘assassination culture’ (I’m looking at you, Laura Loomer) is a dog-whistling member of the rightwing conspiracy mongers,” he tweeted.
King’s tweet was a cultural gut-punch aimed at a growing movement of far-right influencers who weaponize tragedy for their own agendas. The term “dog-whistling” is crucial here. It’s not just about conspiracy theories; it’s about coded language designed to inflame and radicalize, all while maintaining a thin veneer of plausible deniability.
Laura Loomer, a self-proclaimed far-right provocateur with a long history of incendiary comments, had been stoking flames on social media following a shooting at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Before authorities had even pieced together the facts, Loomer had already drawn her own conclusions, jumping to blame Michigan’s Muslim population — a group that makes up less than 3% of the state’s residents. “Hate against Christians is widespread in places like Michigan because the entire state is being taken over by Muslims who refuse to assimilate,” Loomer wrote, offering zero evidence to back up her claims.
The tragedy in Michigan was devastating. Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Marine veteran, opened fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, killing at least two people and wounding eight before setting the church ablaze. Sanford himself was killed in a shootout with police.
At the time of Loomer’s remarks, the motive for the attack was still unknown, and it remains unclear whether this act of violence was religiously or ideologically motivated. But Loomer didn’t wait for facts. She’s part of a broader movement on the far right that thrives on manufacturing outrage and exploiting tragedy. King’s horror stories may be fiction, but his warning about the real-world horrors of dog-whistling and conspiracy-mongering couldn’t be more real. And as long as figures like Loomer are given platforms to spread their poison, it’s up to the rest of us to call it out, just like King did.
Published: Sep 29, 2025 12:54 pm