Orlando Terrorist Posted On Facebook Multiple Times During Nightclub Massacre
MENLO PARK (CBS SF) -- The gunman in the Orlando nightclub massacre posted multiple times on Facebook before and during his attack according to a Senate committee, which is seeking help from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to provide information about the gunman's online activity.
The chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), sent a letter to Zuckerberg saying five Facebook accounts were associated with gunman Omar Mateen, who searched for news of his rampage and posted on the social network during his terror attack on the Pulse Nightclub.
From the letter:
On June 12, 2016, Mateen apparently searched for "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting." Mateen also apparently posted "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state..I pledge my alliance to abu bakr al Baghdadi..may Allah accept me." He then posted "The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west" and "You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes..now taste the Islamic state vengeance." In a final post, Mateen apparently wrote, "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa."
Johnson also told Zuckerberg in days before the attack Mateen used Facebook to search information on the San Bernardino terrorists and law enforcement agencies.
Johnson requested that Zuckerberg provide by June 29 all data on all of Mateen's activities on Facebook, including logs, timeline information, messages and posts.
The request is not a subpoena, and Zuckerberg is not required to comply. Facebook did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
In a 911 call he made during the four-hour long siege at the gay nightclub early Sunday, Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS. He was shot dead by SWAT officers after he had killed 49 people and wounded 53. The attack was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
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Carlos E. Castañeda is Senior Editor, News & Social Media for CBS San Francisco and a San Francisco native. You can follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
