Nikolas Cruz: Alleged Florida Shooter Was Member Of White Nationalist Group, Leader Confirms
Nikolas Cruz, the Florida man accused of murdering 17 people in a school shooting, was a member of a white nationalist group and underwent paramilitary training with the group, the group’s leader confirms.
As the Daily Beast reports, Jordan Jereb styles himself the “captain” of the Republic of Florida, a white nationalist group that wants to make the Sunshine State a “white ethnostate.” He confirmed to the website that Cruz was a member of the organization who underwent training with the group in the Tallahassee area.
What Jereb Knew About Cruz
Jereb confirms that the paramilitary training Cruz allegedly underwent with the group, carried out in the Tallahasseee area, probably played a role in Cruz’ lethality.
“He probably used that training to do what he did yesterday.”
He also doesn’t believe that Cruz failed to realize that he had joined a violent paramilitary group; Jereb says Cruz “knew full well” what he was getting into.
As far as guns, Jereb says he “believes” someone gave Cruz a Mosin-Nagant, but says it wasn’t the gun Cruz allegedly used in the school shooting. Jereb says that his group encourages its members to keep a “survival cache” of weapons.
As for what motivated the attack, Jereb said that Cruz “had trouble with a girl,” according to KTVI-TV (St. Louis), and that the timing of the attack, which occurred on Valentine’s Day, is probably relevant.
Jereb is also quick to point out that he (Jereb) believes Cruz acted on his own.
“Nobody I know told him to do that, he just freaked out.”
BREAKING: School shooter trained with white supremacists https://t.co/8phSfVWqXS
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) February 15, 2018
What Is The “Republic Of Florida”?
According to its own website, which will not be linked here, the group is “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.”
According to a Southern Poverty Law Center report from 2015, the group has not been a part of any known violent acts, restricting their activities instead to rallies and speeches.
The same cannot be said of Jereb, however. He’s done time for burglary, and in 2016, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, was arrested on charges of threatening and trying to extort Stuart Pollins, a low-level staffer in Governor Rick Scott’s administration.
As of this writing, according to WPLG-TV (Miami), law enforcement officials have not confirmed Cruz’ alleged association with the Republic of Florida.
