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NEW YORK – New York state authorities have launched an investigation into several social media platforms, according to which the accused shooter in a Buffalo grocery store used to plan, promote and broadcast the attack that killed 10, said Attorney General Leticia James on Wednesday .
Gov. Katie Hochul unveiled several additional measures aimed at fighting domestic terrorism, including legislation to tighten gun laws in New York and a directive for the state police to exercise its powers to disarm those considered a public threat.
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Responding to a letter of recommendation from Hochul to investigate the role of social media in the massacre, James said her inquiry would focus on Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.com, as well as the online chat site Discord, online the 4chan and 8chan message boards and other platforms “the shooter used to step up his attack”.
“This terrorist attack has rediscovered the depths and dangers of these platforms, which spread and promote hatred without consequences,” James said. “We are doing everything we can to stop this dangerous behavior now and ensure that it never happens again.”
The FBI said Peyton Hendron, who is white, committed an act of “racially motivated violent extremism” on Saturday when he fired a semi-automatic rifle at a grocery store in a predominantly African-American neighborhood of Buffalo, shooting 13 people. Most of the victims are black. Ten died.
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Authorities say 18-year-old Hendron broadcast the real-time attack on Twitch before surrendering to police, and is believed to have published a white manifesto and a long checklist and report on his social media training before the riot. .
Gendron was jailed on bail on charges of first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty.
“FEEDING JARES” FROM HATE
Twitch said in a statement on the day of the shooting that it had canceled the live broadcast less than two minutes after it began and is working to ensure that no other accounts are republishing the content.
Accusing social media platforms of “feeding rage” on a violent extremist ideology spreading on the Internet, Hochul said Twitch should have downloaded the video of the shooting “within seconds.”
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Screenshots of the show were circulated on social media during the day, including some showing the shooter standing over a body in a grocery store. Reuters was able to find footage from the live broadcast, which was still posted on a website on Wednesday morning.
A 589-page planning document, written by the suspect under a different username, was published in Discord, according to media reports. Discord said in a statement: “We will cooperate with the investigation of the Attorney General of New York.”
The other companies mentioned in James’ statement did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
In a bid to prevent further attacks on people authorities say pose a risk to public safety, Hochul on Wednesday ordered state police to receive urgent court orders under New York’s Red Flag Act to keep firearms outside the hands of persons considered a danger to themselves or others.
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The Southern Legal Center for Poverty (SPLC), which tracks hateful and extremist groups, told Reuters that the suspected Buffalo shooter “had a significant online history in niche, toxic online communities.”
The suspect caught the attention of local law enforcement nearly a year before the Buffalo shooting, when police detained him after threatening his high school, according to Buffalo Police Commissioner, who said Hendron had received a mental health assessment and was released.
Hochul also announced a package of weapons safety legislation, including measures to broaden the definition of weapons covered by existing firearms regulations, tighten arms reporting requirements for law enforcement and improve the tracing of weapons fired during committing crimes.
The governor also signed an executive order to set up a new domestic terrorism unit within state law enforcement agencies and set up a state police unit dedicated to tracking and responding to extremist violent threats on social media. (Report by Maria Caspani in New York; Writing and additional reports by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reports by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Mark Porter and Rosalba O’Brien)
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