
October Prime Day Is Almost Over—but You Can Still Save Big on These Health and Beauty Products
You can stock up and save big on top-rated Revlon hair tools, Theragun massage guns, and more with these Prime Day wellness and beauty deals.
2023-10-12 05:57

Nazi images, hateful rants and ‘Right Wing Death Squad’: A look at Texas gunman’s alleged far-right social media posts
A social media profile that appears to belong to a gunman who killed eight people in a busy Dallas-area shopping mall on 6 May includes dozens of Nazi-related images and hate-filled rants against women and racial minorities. The profile on the Russian-based platform ok.ru also includes more than two dozen photos of the Texas mall and surrounding areas, including Google location information that shows when the mall is at its busiest. It was posted in the days leading up to the attack. Posts reviewed by The Independent and extremism researchers include photos showing SS and swastika tattoos, praise for Adolf Hitler, misogynistic screeds that echo incel (or involuntary celibate) ideas and forums, and complaints about the state of his mental health. The profile allegedly belongs to Mauricio Garcia, the 33-year-old who was fatally shot by police after he fired an AR-style rifle at the outlet mall, killing eight and injuring seven others. Law enforcement officials have not publicly disclosed or suggested a motive behind the mass shooting. A federal law enforcement bulletin notes that the FBI’s “review and triage of the subject’s social media accounts revealed hundreds of postings and images to include writings with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist rhetoric, including neo-Nazi materials and material espousing the supremacy of the white race.” The profile did not have any followers or appear to have any engagement from other users. One image on the ok.ru profile includes a picture of his hand which appears to be the same tattoo that belonged to the gunman. Another photo receipt from January has the name “Mauricio” and a phone number that appears to match one that belongs to Garcia. Photos on the profile also include dumped-out boxes of ammunition, posted at the same time with images outside the mall. The profile had appeared to telegraph preparations for violence for years; a photo of a written diary entry in a spiral-bound notebook from 2019 details a dream about racist violence. In what appears to be a final post, the user claims that a psychologist would not be able to “fix” him. A link to a YouTube video posted by the same person on the day of the shooting shows Garcia removing a Scream mask and asking, “Not quite what you were expecting, huh?” During the attack, he was reportedly wearing a patch reading “RWDS,” an acronym for “Right Wing Death Squad” – a flak jacket with the patch appears on the ok.ru profile. This catchphrase has emerged in recent years as both a far-right brand and rallying cry popular with the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group. Its also often associated with memes and T-shirts praising Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and his extrajudicial killing of political enemies by throwing them from helicopters. “Dissidents, particularly leftists, socialists, and supporters of the previous government, were dropped to their death from helicopters by Pinochet’s regime,” West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center notes in its research of the “Right Wing Death Squad” meme. “Today, the reference often features an image of a helicopter and is often accompanied by slogans such as ‘Right Wing Death Squad,’ ‘Free Helicopter Rides,’ and other iterations.” The phrases are emblazoned on T-shirts and stickers; several members of the Proud Boys who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their actions surrounding the January 6 attack have been photographed with similar patches or T-shirts reading “Pinochet Did Nothing Wrong.” “RWDS” has appeared at neo-Nazi gatherings, far-right protests and other events attracting Proud Boys members and other fascist groups within the years after the 2016 election. The phrase was scrawled on shields during the so-called “Unite the Right” rally white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. At the time, Facebook removed several racist groups from the platform, including one called “Right Wing Death Squad”. In 2019, federal investigators uncovered an alleged plot involving an active-duty US Marine to kill minorities, drug users and members of the Democratic National Committee in a group chat called “Right Wing Death Squad”. Allen is among one of the most diverse suburbs of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, home to roughly 105,000 people. Many of the posts allegedly written by Garcia also discuss or reference his Hispanic heritage, underscoring the ways in which white supremacism, fascism and violent extremist ideologies often escape rigid racial or ethnic lines. Virulent antisemite and white nationalist Nick Fuentes has a half-Mexican father, and Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Capitol attack, is Afro-Cuban. Nazi propaganda website The Daily Stormer also began publishing in Spanish in 2017 in an effort to seize on Latin American audiences. The ok.ru profile mentions the website and its founder Andrew Anglin. “I think I even read in the news Hispanics could be the new white supremist [sic],” one of the ok.ru post reads. “Just the other day this black dude told me the line is blurring. He can’t tell the difference anymore. Someone would look white but their [sic] actually Hispanic.” In photographs of his spiral-bound diary entries, he also said he wore an “It’s OK to be White” shirt and that he is Hispanic whether he “likes it or not.” Garcia was heavily armed and armoured when he began firing indiscriminately with an AR-style rifle at the Allen Premium Outlets shopping centre on 6 May. Among the eight victims are a three-year-old boy, an eight-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl, according to the Allen Police Department. An Allen police officer who was already at the scene for an unrelated incident fatally shot him. There have been more than 200 mass shootings, including 21 mass murders, so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. White supremacists are behind the highest number of extremism-related murders in most years, according to an analysis from the Anti-Defamation League. Last year, 21 of 25 extremism-linked murders were committed by white supremacists – but “all the extremist-related murders in 2022 were committed by right-wing extremists of various kinds,” the report found. Read More Allen mall shooting - update: Parents and three-year-old son named among eight killed by Texas outlet shooter Mauricio Garcia: Everything we know about the Texas mall gunman who killed eight Two days, three attacks, 18 dead: Texas reels from horrifying weekend of violence
2023-05-09 07:52

Israel must respect 'sanctity of hospitals': UK minister
Israel must respect "the sanctity of hospitals" in Gaza and allow them to be places of safety during its offensive in the Palestinian territory, a...
2023-11-14 22:24

Thousands of coup supporters gathered near French base in Niger
Thousands of supporters of Niger's coup leaders gathered on Friday near a French military base on the outskirts of the...
2023-08-12 00:26

Jeers rain down as Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with Sabalenka at French Open
Aryna Sabalenka kept her cool to win a politically-charged French Open duel against Marta Kostyuk on Sunday as jeers rained down after the defeated Ukrainian refused to...
2023-05-28 19:25

From Kendall Jenner to Rihanna: A look at Lewis Hamilton's dating history amid romance rumors with Shakira
It seems that Lewis Hamilton and Shakira are 'spending time together' while being in the 'fun and flirty' getting-to-know-you stage
2023-06-09 14:49

Michigan State football coach Tucker says `other motives' behind his firing for alleged misconduct
Suspended Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker says he's “disappointed — but not surprised” that the school intends to fire him for misconduct involving activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy
2023-09-20 02:47

Nervous Republicans turn to New Hampshire in hopes of stopping Trump
Weary Republicans across New Hampshire, even inside the governor’s office, are desperate to stop former President Donald Trump from winning the first-in-the-nation presidential primary
2023-07-22 12:24

Isaac Paredes homers as Tampa Bay Rays beat Los Angeles Dodgers 11-10
Isaac Paredes homered and drove in four runs as the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays took two of three from the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers with an 11-10 victory
2023-05-29 04:29

Twitch streamer xQc in hot water as Adept files protective order
xQc and Adept drama gets ugly
2023-06-11 14:47

'Fox & Friends' host Steve Doocy blames Donald Trump's dropping popularity on skipping first GOP debate as new poll results released
Doocy has previously been quite vocal about Trump's popularity being affected because of his decision to stay away from the first GOP debate
2023-08-30 15:17

Liberia Is Latest Nation to Find Tainted Medicine From India
Liberia joined a list of countries that have found contaminated medicine originating from India’s $42 billion drugmaking industry.
2023-06-15 23:49
You Might Like...

Stocks Set for Cautious Open; Yen Advances on Ueda: Markets Wrap

Can 'good cop' Janet Yellen help fix US-China relations?

Exclusive: DHS investigating whether floor plans and other security information were exposed in ransomware attack on contractor

‘Girls Incarcerated’ stars Then and Now: Here's what the young offenders of the series have been up to

Zimbabwean women are reduced to cheerleaders in the upcoming election, activists say

The Moon is slowly drifting away from Earth and its beginning to impact us

China 2024 Budget Deficit Seen Above 3.5% In Break With Past

Washington finalizing the hire of Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen, AP source says