8Chan has become an implausibly popular office for violent white supremacist to post their manifesto before a mass shooting . Now Democrats in Congress want to hear from 8Chan ’s owner , Jim Watkins , and they ’ve cut a subpoena for him to show on Capitol Hill on September 5 .
The news of the subpoena ad testificandum , first report byPolitico , come as Watkins has deny 8Chan had any role to wreak in the late attack linked to blank supremacist ideologies . Three attacks have been associated with the site over the retiring 6 months , including the El Paso Walmart attack that killed 22 citizenry , the Poway synagogue attack that down one person , and the Christchurch mosque attacks that killed 51 people . All three mistrust gun for hire posted open letters or manifestos about their attacks to 8Chan before carrying them out .
The House Homeland Security Committee , under Democratic Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi , previously sent Watkins a letter datedAugust 6requesting that the 8Chan owner appear and testify . It ’s not absolved if Watkins refuse to fare voluntarily , but the House Democrats have now issued a subpoena that will legally require him to come .
The owner of 8Chan, Jim Watkins, appears on a YouTube livestream from Reno, Nevada on August 11, 2019Screenshot: (YouTube)
8Chan has been offline for over a calendar week , ever since it was dropped by Cloudfare , though Watkins say the situation is offline voluntarily . The latest YouTube videopostedby Watkins on August 11 , 2019 is geotagged at the Sands Regency Casino Hotel in Reno , Nevada .
“ We ’ll fetch it back online after I talk to Homeland Security , ” Watkins says in the YouTube telecasting livestream . “ I desire them to sympathize we have nothing to do with this crazy violence that ’s been pass off . I desire them to understand what ’s been get on . ”
Watkins is upset that 8Chan was implicated in the recent Norway mosque attack that thankfully did n’t result in any deaths . The New York Times erroneously report that the Norway assailant had post to 8Chan before thatattack on Saturday , but the internet site was already offline by then . The Times later on issued a rectification , blaming it on an editing error .
“ This is a horrible thing that ’s going on and I suppose almost everybody is for mental wellness screenings and micturate sure you ’re sane before you could get a shooter , ” Watkins saidon the YouTube livestream .
Watkins assured 8Chan fans that the government had not forced him to pull the website offline , but admit that without Cloudfare , the site will not have any defense against distributed denial - of - help ( DDoS ) attacks . DDoS is an improbably vulgar method of inundating a website ’s servers with bogus dealings requests so that it read the website offline .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrJxVYXBJ0o
The House subpoena ad testificandum , which has beenposted online , indicates that Watkins ’ testimonial will find at 9:30 am ET in Washington if they can get him to look . It ’s not instantly exonerated if Watkins has a attorney nor whether he ’ll fight the subpoena ad testificandum in any way .
Police in the Philippines , where Watkins usually lives , have reportedly opened aninvestigationinto the internet site . Watkins purchased the site from its founder Fredrick Brennan in 2015 . Brennan has recently called for 8Chan to beshut downover its connection to mass shootings .
“ We have questions on what is being done to foresee this style so we can be sure it is being decent addressed , ” the House Homeland Security Committee said in a argument brand toTwitter . “ receive testimony from Mr. Watkins is critical to our oversight on this vital take . ”
8chanextremismhomeland security
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