White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that the coronavirus pandemic is a root cause of a rash of incidents where criminals are organizing themselves to loot stores.

Psaki was answering questions from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy when he pressed her about Biden’s stance on crime.

“Does the President still think that crime is up because of the pandemic?” asked Doocy.

“I think many people have conveyed that, and also one of the reasons that crime,” Psaki responded, “one of the root reasons crime we’ve — root causes of crime in communities is guns and gun violence. And we’ve seen that statistically around the country.”

“But, to your point, so when a huge group of criminals organizes themselves and they want to go loot a store — a CVS, a Nordstrom, a Home Depot — until the shelves are clean, do you think that’s because of the pandemic?” he asked.

“I think a root cause in a lot of communities is the pandemic, yes,” replied Psaki.

Psaki’s claim was mocked and ridiculed by many on social media.