Lawmaker who claimed she was racially abused at a grocery store tweeted sympathy for Nikolas Cruz

The Georgia lawmaker who claimed she was racially abused in a supermarket checkout line tweeted sympathy for Parkland killer Nikolas Cruz and suggested he had been failed by ‘the system’. 

In a now deleted tweet Democrat Erica Thomas said her ‘heart went out to’ the school shooter just two days after he gunned down 17 classmates and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and offered prayers to the ‘Nik’.

Screengrabs show Rep. Thomas of Austell wrote: ‘My heart goes out to Nikolas Cruz!! Some don’t know how to cope with being an orphan. 

‘I thank God everyday for getting me through the system in one piece. #FloridaShooting #mentalhealth #PrayforDouglas #prayfornik.’ 

The post was flagged online before it appears to have been deleted but it has now led to some to call for her resignation. 

Fred Guttenberg, the father of Parkland victim Jaime, tweeted: ‘Looks like she deleted her tweet which was put out after the murder. Here it is. WTF @itsericathomas. 

‘This murderer killed my daughter and 16 others. My heart goes out to my daughter and the other victims. I plan to be there when he receives his ultimate penalty of death.’ 

Florida GOP Vice Chairman Christian Ziegler tweeted: ‘Erica Thomas has proven herself to not just be tone deaf and out-of-touch, but also a liar. Let’s hope her days in office are over.’ 

Nikolas Cruz enters the courtroom for a hearing at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale in May

Democrat Erica Thomas said her ‘heart went out to’ Nikolas Cruz two days after he gunned down 17 classmates and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Screengrabs show Rep. Thomas of Austell wrote: 'My heart goes out to Nikolas Cruz!! Some don't know how to cope with being an orphan. 'I thank God everyday for getting me through the system in one piece. #FloridaShooting #mentalhealth #PrayforDouglas #prayfornik'

Screengrabs show Rep. Thomas of Austell wrote: ‘My heart goes out to Nikolas Cruz!! Some don’t know how to cope with being an orphan. ‘I thank God everyday for getting me through the system in one piece. #FloridaShooting #mentalhealth #PrayforDouglas #prayfornik’

Fred Guttenberg, the father of Parkland victim Jaime, tweeted his thoughts on Thomas' tweet

Fred Guttenberg, the father of Parkland victim Jaime, tweeted his thoughts on Thomas’ tweet

Thomas took to Facebook to post a tearful video last week about the moment she says she was racially abused by Eric Sparkes in a supermarket express checkout line because she had too many items.  

In it she described how she and her nine-year-old daughter had just returned from the supermarket, where Sparkes had cursed at her, calling her a ‘lazy son of a b***h’ and allegedly telling her ‘You need to go back where you came from.’

The alleged verbal onslaught began, Thomas said, because the man was upset that she had 15 items while checking out in the 10 items of less line.

Eric Sparkes admitted to calling Thomas a 'lazy b***h' but denied making any racially-charged comments

Eric Sparkes admitted to calling Thomas a ‘lazy b***h’ but denied making any racially-charged comments

Thomas said that she had used the express checkout line, despite having more than the stated items, because she is nine months pregnant and has trouble standing for long.  

The incident came days after President Donald Trump tweeted that four congresswomen of color, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, should go back to the ‘broken and crime infested’ countries they came from.

In her video, Thomas alluded to those attacks and accused the president of inciting hate. 

The clip went viral and the hashtag #IStandwithErica trended on Twitter. 

A day later Thomas and Sparkes were seen in a shocking on-camera, parking lot confrontation where Eric denied telling her ‘go back to where you came from’ but admitted he branded her a ‘lazy b***h’.

Sparkes denied making any racially-charged comments and told WSB-TV that he’s Cuban, not a racist and not a Trump supporter.

He said: ‘This woman is playing the victim for political purposes because she is a state legislator. 

‘I’m a Democrat and will vote Democrat for the rest of my life, so call me whatever you want to believe. For her political purposes, make it black, white, brown, whatever. It is untrue.’ 

Thomas appeared to retract some of her original statements but doubled down on them in a press conference Monday, saying: 'I want to make sure everyone knows I'm not backtracking on my statement or retracting anything I said'

Thomas appeared to retract some of her original statements but doubled down on them in a press conference Monday, saying: ‘I want to make sure everyone knows I’m not backtracking on my statement or retracting anything I said’

Thomas later said in an interview with Channel 2 Action News: ‘I don’t want to say he said, “Go back to your country”, or “Go back to where you came from”. But he was making those types of references is what I remember.’ 

But she doubled down on her original comments in a press conference Monday, saying: ‘I want to make sure everyone knows I’m not backtracking on my statement or retracting anything I said.’

Publix said they are ‘cooperating with local law enforcement as they look into the matter.’ 

DailyMail.com has contacted a representative of Thomas for comment. 

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