NEW YORK – 
No motives have emerged from today’s senseless shooting in Tucson, but Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has a long history of being targeted by the Tea Party—sometimes in violent terms.
In the run-up to 2010’s heated midterm elections, Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords was also on Sarah Palin’s “target map,” released in March, which featured gun crosshairs superimposed over her target’s districts on a United States map. The graphic was removed from Palin’s website today. Palin has released a statement, saying her “sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today’s tragic shooting in Arizona.”
Photos: Gabrielle Giffords
Giffords’ Republican opponent in the race, Jesse Kelly, whom she narrowly defeated, held a campaign event in which he invited supporters to shoot a machine gun. “Get on target for victory,” an ad for the event read. “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully a automatic M16 with Jesse Kelley,” the ad continued.
As Giffords’ father rushed to the hospital after his daughter was shot, the New York Post asked him if his daughter had any enemies. “Yeah,” he said. “The whole Tea Party.” He continued: “They always get threat[ened]. We don’t really have any information. The police department was supposed to call us but they didn’t.”
Authorities are holding Jared Laughner, 22, of Arizona in connection with the shooting.
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