Back in December 2022, Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles from the 5th district of Tennessee sent out a Christmas card to his constituents. The card showed Ogles, his wife, and his three children smiling and posing in front of a Christmas tree – with four of five family members holding assault-style rifles.
This type of thing is fairly standard for Republican leaders, and it wouldn’t really be a big deal except for the fact that a woman shot and killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in his district earlier today. Through the lens of that, it doesn’t look good at all.
Someone shared the photo and it quickly racked up more than three million views. Suffice to say, people are not happy about it.
“Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. Parents will lay their babies to rest today but never tuck them in again. Thanks Tennessee law makers. Their blood is on your hands,” someone replied to the photo. Another person took the idea of Ogles’ Christian values and lampooned them.
“Thank you Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, for bestowing upon us these murderous weapons. Thank you also for knowledge that ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ doesn’t literally mean we shouldn’t kill, or make sacrifices to protect children from being killed. In your name, amen.” Pretty good satire, unfortunately in the worst of circumstances.
Of course, pointing out hypocrisy doesn’t really do anything but it can be startling nonetheless.
Hard to argue with this one.
I’m sure he’s thoughtfully praying that he doesn’t lose reelection over this.
Others pointed out that the photo is an example of grooming, and also the irony of the youngest child holding a sign that says “peace” and “joy” on it.
A lot of people also pointed out that Ogles was accused of lying on his resume during his time on the campaign trail, a la George Santos. Ogles claimed he was an economist, a police officer, and a global sex crimes expert while he was campaigning for his position, and then again after he won the election.
Per local channel news channel WTVF, Ogles never worked as an economist or studied as one. In college, he majored in international relations. When he worked at a Tennessee think tank called the Laffer Center, he had an admin position that didn’t involve anything with economics or public policy.
He also said he was a “former member of law enforcement” with “firsthand experience” working on human trafficking. He did swear in as a volunteer deputy in 2009, but the title was revoked after he didn’t meet the minimum standards of the position, didn’t attend any meetings, and made little progress during in-field training.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said “there is nothing in Mr. Ogles training or personnel file that indicates he had any involvement in ‘international sex trafficking’ in his capacity as a reserve deputy.”
His claim that he was “heavily involved in the fight against human trafficking” while he worked at a nonprofit called Abolition International was also an exaggeration. According to Business Insider, he worked with marketing and fundraising at the company.
Ogles’ office shockingly blamed the “liberal media” for trying to “make something out of nothing.”
“It’s a simple case of condensing a resume for the sake of brevity on the campaign trail, and partisan hacks are trying to turn it into a headline for clicks,” his office said.
Regardless, he’ll probably be reelected because that’s how things work in this country. Can’t wait to see next year’s Christmas card.
