The gunman behind the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Robert Bowers, was active and outspoken on social media, publishing bizarre posts in which he slammed Jews, diversity, and Donald Trump.
Moments before entering the synagogue on Saturday morning, the 46-year-old wrote on the social network Gab that he was “going in,” stating that he couldn't “sit by and watch my people get slaughtered.” That comment was in reference to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which he says “brings invaders in that kill our people.”
Three days ago on the same social network, Bowers posted a “daily reminder” in which he said that “diversity means chasing down the last white person.”
Bowers made his disdain for US President Donald Trump known, saying he “did not vote for him” and has never “worn or even touched a MAGA [Make America Great Again] hat.”
He also referred to Trump as “a globalist, not a nationalist,” saying “there is no #MAGA as long as there is a k**e infestation,” using a four-letter derogatory term for Jewish people.
Bowers also reposted anti-Semitic content, including one which suggested that Trump is controlled by Jews. That particular post included a photoshopped image which showed a Jewish man supposedly telling the president: “We must keep whites asleep for a few more years so they are totally outnumbered by our non-white minions and can never regain their country.”
The 46-year-old's cover photo on Gab showed the number 1488, which is often used by neo-Nazis. His bio on the site stated that “Jews are the children of Satan.”
Meanwhile, Gab has taken aim at “Big Tech,” claiming that while it immediately alerted the FBI about Bowers' account and deactivated it, others didn't. “Question: Where is the statement from Facebook and others where he [Bowers] had an account?” it tweeted.
The social network, which was created as an alternative to Twitter (but still tweets from its Twitter account) and hails the right to free speech, also said that “words are not bullets” and “social media posts have a body count of zero.”
An FBI official has stated that there is no indication that Bowers was known to law enforcement before the shooting. The 46-year-old is registered as a voter in Pennsylvania, but his records show him as being “unaffiliated” to any party.
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