Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has deleted a tweet quoting the New Testament in the wake of the deadly Orlando nightclub shooting.
Hours after the shooting at a gay nightclub that left 50 dead, Patrick sent a tweet from his personal account: "Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
NBC 5 NewsThe tweet received harsh criticism online. North Texas Congressman, Marc Veasey, specifically called out the Lt. Gov. for his tweet.
Veasey also spoke to NBC 5 Political Reporter Julie Fine about the tweet.
"It was a sad day in Texas history for all the great representation of Texas we've had over the years," Veasey said. "For a second-ranking state official to do something like that [shakes head]."
Texas' Democratic Party responded to the tweet with a statement calling on Patrick to apologize.
The tweet was deleted around 11 a.m. Sunday.
Patrick campaign spokesman Allen Blakemore strongly denied the tweet was in any way related to the Orlando shooting and that Patrick was currently out of the country.
"Lt. Gov. Patrick and every Texan is stunned and saddened by the outrageous act of domestic terrorism that has occurred in Orlando. He and Jan are praying for the victims, their families and their friends," Patrick's office said in a statement at about noon Sunday.
Blakemore said Patrick, an outspoken social conservative, often pre-schedules social media postings quoting Scripture.
"Regarding this morning's scripture posting on social media, be assured that the post was not done in response to last night's tragedy. The post was designed and scheduled last Thursday," Patrick's office said.
"We regret the unfortunate timing of these pots and ask everyone to join us in praying for the people of Orlando in this awful time," Patrick's office said.
Lt. Gov. Patrick finally addressed his tweet with a Facebook post Sunday afternoon, confirming that he posts scripture every Sunday. "Those posts are chosen in advance and scheduled in advance," Patrick wrote. "Our scripture was not posted in re-action to the shooting."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
You can read Lt. Gov. Patrick's full Facebook post below:
[[382640171,C]]
NBC 5's Julie Fine contributed to this report.
