D'Souza, who has written books and directed films attacking former president Barack Obama, claims he was targeted for his conservative views. His supporters, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), conservative activist Candace Owens and the president himself, appear to agree.
But D'Souza's indictment is only part of his personal story. The former Christian college president is as well known for his outlandish comments on social media as he is for his political commentary.
Here's a sampler of the incidents that earned him that reputation.
1. He called Obama a “boy" from the “ghetto" after Obama filmed a sketch where he took a selfie in the Oval Office.
2. He called Obama a “grown up Trayvon," in 2013, a reference to the black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
D'Souza removed the tweet, but Washington Post opinion writer Jonathan Capehart wrote that “its racist implications are beneath contempt."
3. D'Souza dismissed the activism of survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting because of their youth.
4. He then mocked those students after Florida lawmakers voted down a bill to ban assault weapons.
5. He minimized the impact of civil rights activist Rosa Parks's protest that helped desegregate public transportation.
6. He attempted to draw a connection between homosexuality and Nazis.
7. He has used the n-word on more than one occasion on social media.
8. He accused women advocating for gender equality of being “feminist whiners."
I'm sorry, but since when did #feminist whiners come to be associated with "strong women"? Golda Meier, Indira Gandhi, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Margaret Thatcher—none of them described themselves as "feminists."
Posted by Dinesh D'Souza on Tuesday, January 6, 2015
9. He politicized the Pulse shooting in Orlando while attacking Obama.