(MOTHER JONES) — Floyd Lee Corkins, a 28-year-old sometime gay rights volunteer from Herndon, VA who lives with his parents, walked into the Washington headquarters of the Family Research Council on Wednesday with a 9-millimeter handgun and a bag with 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches. According to the FBI, he told the FRC’s security guard Leonardo Reno Johnson that he didn’t like the organization’s politics before opening fire, wounding Johnson in the arm before the guard could subdue him. Thanks to Johnson’s bravery, there was no loss of life.
On Thursday, Corkins was charged with a firearms violation and assault with intent to kill, but anti-marriage equality activists believe the responsibility for the incident goes beyond one man. Anti-gay rights groups quickly pointed to pro-LGBT rights groups as unindicted co-conspirators. The National Organization for Marriage’s President Brian Brown said Wednesday that “Today’s attack is the clearest sign we’ve seen that labeling pro-marriage groups as ‘hateful’ must end,” referring to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s categorization of FRC as a “hate group.” Brown noted that the Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBT rights group, had “even specified that FRC hosts events in Washington, DC, where today’s attack took place.” To Brown, LGBT rights activists had all but drawn Corkins a map.