Gab CEO contradicts testimony from FBI deputy director about social media posts attributed to Trump rally shooter

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified before Congress on Tuesday about the possible motivation of the Trump rally shooter, but the CEO of Gab immediately contradicted his claim.

Abbate testified that Thomas Matthew Crooks had posted hundreds of messages to social media, including some that expressed anti-Semitic and anti-immigration sentiments.

'To the best of Gab's knowledge, as of 2021, Crooks was a pro-lockdown, pro-immigration, left-wing Joe Biden supporter.'

“Some of these comments, 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,” said Abbate.

The posts were reportedly published between 2019 and 2020.

“While the investigative team is still working to verify this account to determine if it did in fact belong to the shooter, we believe it important to share and note it today, particularly given the general absence of other information to date from social media and other sources of information that reflect on the shooter’s potential motive and mindset,” Abbate added.

Andrew Torba, the CEO of the Gab social media platform, then said that he had received a request from the FBI about posts that might be attributed to Crooks but added that they appeared to show motivation opposite to Abbate's testimony.

"This is not consistent with Gab's understanding of the shooter's motives based on an Emergency Disclosure Request ('EDR') we received from the FBI last week for the Gab account 'EpicMicrowave' which, based on the content of that EDR, the FBI appeared to think belonged to Thomas Crooks," said Torba from his official social media account.

He went on to say the company doesn't usually confirm law enforcement communications, but it made an exception because of the "overwhelming public interest" in this case.

"The story is this: the account for which data was requested was, UNEQUIVOCALLY, pro-Biden and in particular pro-Biden's immigration policy," said Torba. "To the best of Gab's knowledge, as of 2021, Crooks was a pro-lockdown, pro-immigration, left-wing Joe Biden supporter."

Torba also posted a copy of the request from the FBI but blocked out some information out of courtesy to the agency's investigation.

Abbate was challenged in his testimony by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

"We understand that the Gab account is pro-immigration, pro-lockdown, leftist views. Is that accurate?" she asked.

"I haven't seen it directly, but I believe, from what I've been told, that is accurate, with the Gab account," Abbate responded. "We're still working to verify that that's his account. But it does have differing points of view, it would appear."

Abbate's testimony was published to YouTube.

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