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Investigators believe Trump shooter posted antisemitic and anti-immigration themes on YouTube

Federal investigators are looking into a YouTube account possibly connected to the would-be Donald Trump assassin in which the user espoused political violence as well as antisemitic and anti-immigration themes, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

A drone view shows the stage where former President Donald Trump had been standing during an...
A drone view shows the stage where former President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14.

Investigators believe Trump shooter posted antisemitic and anti-immigration themes on YouTube

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said at a congressional hearing Tuesday that investigators had uncovered a social media account where Thomas Matthew Crooks may have posted those themes but didn’t specify the platform and said they are still working to confirm the connection with the shooter.

Officials have repeatedly said that they have struggled to understand the 20-year-old shooter’s motive and that they are combing his online presence for more information.

“Something just very recently uncovered that I want to share is a social media account, which is believed to be associated with this with the shooter – in about the 2019, 2020 timeframe,” Abbate said Tuesday.

On that account, “there were over 700 comments,” Abbate said, which, “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.”

CNN has reached out to YouTube for comment.

The investigation into the shooter's motives revealed a social media account from 2019-2020, potentially linked to him, where anti-Semitic and anti-immigration politics were expressed along with advocacy for political violence. Despite FBI Deputy Director Abbate's revelation, officials are still diligently studying the shooter's online activities to fully comprehend his motivations.

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