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Open-source intelligence analysts reported that Crooks didn’t appear to use mainstream social media channels such as Facebook or Instagram and had an almost negligible internet footprint, which is highly unusual for a 20-year-old. Instead, analysts said that Crooks corresponded with friends and associates on a Discord server that they were now trying to access.

Discord servers are restricted ring-fenced sections of the internet. They are often used by gaming groups and communities as secure chat rooms but are also used by fringe organisations to push their ideologies and discuss wild conspiracy theories and plots.

    • KurtVonnegut [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      He also played a violent new video game that has just recently been discovered, called “Fortnite,” and described himself as having “skibidi rizz” but not being a “sussy baka.” These slang terms are gang lingo used by only the most dangerous terrorists.

    • Aradina [She/They]@lemmy.ml
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      5 months ago

      I’m 26 and my peers are mixed on using Facebook. Some still have it to message relatives, and that’s about it. I cannot imagine many 20 year olds using it.

      • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 months ago

        If the same thing happened to Biden I’m almost certain mainstream Republicans would be saying things like “this is the people standing up against the woke mob, God Bless Them!”

  • Darth_Reagan [they/them, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Facebook or Instagram and had an almost negligible internet footprint, which is highly unusual for a 20-year-old. Instead, analysts said that Crooks corresponded with friends and associates on a Discord server that they were now trying to access.

    The kids aren’t using facebook, and a lot of them also aren’t using Instagram. A 20 year old man using primarily discord is the most normal thing.

  • Justice@lemmygrad.ml
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    5 months ago

    The FBI says it has not yet identified a motive for the shooting

    I suggest checking the last ~6-12 months of his 4chan history. Key word searches to try: “Trump Zionist” “Kushner” “Fuentes”

    I suppose on the positive side, probably some of the clammiest, palest groypers in existence will be getting some door knocks in coming weeks and months.

    On the extremely negative side, if the guy is 100% confirmed a groyper and his motive is anything in the realm of “Trump supports Israel” or whatever… ain’t gonna be good for future anti-Zionist movements.

    Not that the future was ever bright considering how they’ve reacted to peaceful sit-ins. But yeah, anything groyper related and against Israel (for explicitly antisemitic reasons) will be lumped with anti-imperialism/anti-genocide related resistance to Israel. Very convenient packaging to barrel right past the unavoidable truth of the peaceful nature thus far of anti-Zionist moments. Yes it’s totally nonsensical, but if it aids Zionist narratives that both parties share, it’s too tempting.

  • SoyViking [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    First it was the nefarious CCP using TikTok to indoctrinate the naive youth into not liking genocide.

    Now it’s the dangerous shady Discord servers allowing extremists (from both sides) to plot against Our Democracy™.

    I would not be surprised to see some sort of police state crackdown on Discord and other non-public parts of the internet resulting from this.

    • BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      Isn’t 4chan basically supervised by Feds at this point? The NSA already have access to Facebook and Google so it goes without saying that Discord is next. They want to ban TikTok because they can’t gain that level of access to their user data.

      Why don’t zoomers rediscover Usenet and IRC? Can’t rely on corporate platforms at all.

      • Big_Bob [any]@hexbear.net
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        5 months ago

        I’m pretty sure I remember moot himself saying that he cooperated with law enforcement when they demanded IP adresses every time some 4channer broke the law.

        It was from a court transcript somewhere, but you’re absolutely correct in assuming 4chan is heavily monitored and participated in by law enforcers, government officials and far right recruiters.

    • FishLake@lemmygrad.ml
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      5 months ago

      I was thinking the same thing. It’s kind of the next logical step for platforms that have locked their users onto their sites. What good is a walled garden internet if you can’t link 100% of your users to real world consumers. Hello TSA internet.

  • healthkick@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Rabidly pro-Ukraine?

    Wanted to kickstart helterskelter?

    Trump was too left for his tastes?

    Trump was too right for this Romneyite?

    Gamer just wanted to get a Wikipedia page?

    • Speaker [e/em/eir]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      It’s 100% gonna be Epstein/Save the Children/QAnon. There was a story (apparently fake, but only pinocchio-evil-types say so) going around a few weeks ago about Trump being reinvestigated for Epstein behavior. I think it was only Pinocchio’d a few days ago, so I could definitely see the deboonking not having filtered into the Q space before this heroic moron bought a ticket to the cool zone.

    • moonlake [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      This is my take as well. If this were at all politically motivated, we would be reading his manifesto right now. Or at least his unhinged posts on 4chan/facebook. The fact that there are none of those things leads me to believe that this is just a guy who wanted to be epic. The target was irrelevant, if it was Genocide Joe on that stage he would have still taken the shot.

  • FloridaBoi [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Crook’s father told CNN he was trying to find out “what the hell” was going on but that he would talk to law enforcement before speaking about his son.

    Mr Carriker reposted the photo of members of the US security forces standing over Crooks’ dead body, wearing the grey Demolition Ranch t-shirt.

    What the hell?” he wrote underneath the photo.

    illuminati

  • Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    It’s super cool how the US is so depoliticized that this guy is just some random 20 year old groyper who yelled “hold my beer” and thnere’s no revolutionary cells or organized falandrists or anything.

  • Torenico [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Discord servers are restricted ring-fenced sections of the internet. They are often used by gaming groups and communities as secure chat rooms but are also used by fringe organisations to push their ideologies and discuss wild conspiracy theories and plots.

    Fuck, they know about our discord where we push for a Protracted People’s War in the United SStates of AmeriKKKa.

  • Infamousblt [any]@hexbear.netM
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    5 months ago

    On one side I am totally unsurprised, but on the other side I was hoping this was going to be the worlds first instance of a lib with a spine. I don’t know why I got my hopes up

  • That_Devil_Girl@lemmy.ml
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    5 months ago

    The Republican party is full of, and run by, crazies. Trying to find a coherent motive for this assassination attempt might not be possible.