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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   34144 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 29, 2024

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The FBI has found a social media account featuring antisemitic and anti-immigration comments that investigators believe to be associated with the gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, a senior bureau official said Tuesday.

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told members of Congress that the account could be linked to the shooter, Thomas Crooks, but he cautioned that officials are still working to verify the account's authenticity.

"There were over 700 comments posted; some of these comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect antisemitic and anti-immigration themes to espouse political violence and are described as extreme in nature," Abbate told a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees.

Abbate said the account dates to the 2019-2020 time period, when Crooks would have been 15 or 16 years old. It could provide a glimpse into Crooks' thinking, which has proven elusive as the FBI said the shooter generally had few social contacts and little social media presence. It wasn't clear from Abbate's comment what social media account it was on.

That would've been before the Gab posts.

As for his general internet use

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Discord spokesperson said an account that appears to be linked to Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified and removed in accordance with the company's "off-platform behavior policy."

"It was rarely utilized, has not been used in months, and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views," the spokesperson said. "Discord strongly condemns violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement."

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