Is the Florida Shooter a White Nationalist? *update

It has been a big part of the ongoing story today that the Florida school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was a member of a white nationalist group, Republic of Florida. According to ABC News:

The Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights watchdog, told ABC News they have information they believe to be credible linking Nikolas Cruz, the Florida school shooting suspect, to a white supremacist group called Republic of Florida.
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The ADL said ROF leader Jordan Jereb told them Cruz was associated with his group. Jereb, who is based in Tallahassee, said Cruz was brought into the group by another member and had participated in one or more ROF training exercises in the Tallahassee area, the ADL said. Law enforcement officials have not confirmed the link.

Source

As of 2/15/18 at 11:40 PM, this is still an active article with no updates, corrections, or further clarifications. Since the reports are unconfirmed - and they admit to it very briefly in the article - this was a poor choice of headline. A good portion of people out there won't read the article, only the headline, so they won't see the claim is unconfirmed by law enforcement. 

Also as of 2/15/18 at 11:41 PM, from the Tallahassee Democrat:

You can click those images above for proof of time, screen shots taken at 11:42 PM EST. 

World News Tonight with David Muir at 6:30 PM EST, was also reporting that the shooter was a member of ROF, a white nationalist (I can't provide a clip because you have to sign in with your cable provider, and I don't have a TV). WNT is also ABC News. 

Now, both articles are claiming that this Jordan Jereb guy claimed the Florida shooter was part of their group. But according to the local source, law enforcement has found no evidence that the claim was true. 

*sigh*

​And then there's this gem:

Source

Confused yet? Hold on, this gets better! 

Below all of this there is a screenshot quote from this Jordan Jereb guy. The quote gets traced back to Gab, so I head over to Gab to make sure the screen shot is for real. Not only is it real, but this guy is losing his mind, and also claims it was a prank and he was had. He is also now not claiming to be a leader in this ROF. Here are the screen shots I took from his gab account. The first one is the one I was checking on, the rest are just the follow ups. Keep in mind, it is being reported that there are only about twelve members in this group, and if that is the case, then they should know if this kid was a member or not.

So now major news networks are still running the story that the shooter was a white nationalist and member of ROF, but it appears this may not be the case. Between a group claiming credit for the prank and local law enforcement not finding any evidence he was a member of the group, it may be time for the major news networks to clarify that this Jordan Jereb is walking it back and law enforcement is not agreeing with their sources. And they need to do it a little more obviously than their small admittance that this is all unconfirmed information. 

Right now, the folks on the left are giddy that they finally landed one that isn't a Bernie supporter. I, personally, don't usually care about the political affiliation of mass shooters. It really doesn't play a roll. It does, however, get forced down your throat if there is any inkling that their first cries of "right wing nut job" were correct, and if they are not correct the political leanings suddenly don't matter to them anymore, either. 

But this story is confusing at best. At worst, it is creating yet more division in a time of crisis, and since the reports are not confirmed, it seems premature. 

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

“Jordan Jereb, the leader of the Republic of Florida Militia (ROF), a white nationalist hate group that we have been monitoring, earlier today claimed that Nikolas Cruz, the suspect in the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is a member of his group. Hours after claiming a connection to Cruz, Jereb said he had been misunderstood.

“On its website, the ROF describes itself as ‘a white civil rights organization fighting for white Identitarian politics, And the ultimate creation of a white ethnostate so we can be free from anti-white policies and have policies that reflect our values as white westerners. The ROF Militia is the armed forces of the Republic Of Florida.’

“Jereb initially claimed that Cruz was a member, that he had participated in one or more ROF training exercises in the Tallahassee area, and that he carpooled with other members from South Florida. Though the link was reported by several news organizations, the SPLC has not confirmed it.
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“It may seem odd that Jereb would bring attention to his group by claiming a connection to Cruz, but Jereb has always been somewhat of a publicity seeker. In 2014, in fact, he wrote us to complain that we had not already listed ROF as a hate group. In April 2017, Michael Tubbs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the League of the South, a well-known hate group, wrote that Jereb ‘never misses a photo op’ and called him ‘a nut job who should be avoided.’”

​Source

Bottom line: we really don't 100% know if this guy was a member of ROF. The cops aren't done investigating it, but as of yet have found no evidence that he was. At the end of the day, it won't matter. Even if they find no evidence ever, and if this Jordan Jereb guy publicly states he was not a member, the anti-gunners and the far left are going to run with this. And, as usual, we will all immediately be called white nationalists for not being on the far left. 

​Great. More division. 

2/16/18 Update: It is beginning to be admitted this was a hoax. Some media outlets are beginning to add notes stating this news is possibly not true. The law enforcement agency is apparently tracking the membership of this group, which is why there is no evidence. More information: