Trump rally shooter had a Discord account, company says

The person who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a rally on Saturday had a Discord account — although it was rarely used — according to the company.

“Discord has removed the account in accordance with our off-platform behavior policy and we are assisting authorities in their investigation,” said Clint Smith, Discord’s chief legal officer, in an emailed statement. “The suspect’s account has rarely been used, has not been used in months, and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views, but with the investigation ongoing, we are unable to Please share any additional information at this time.” Discord did not respond On the edgeabout how you tracked the account and which communities the account was a part of.

Little is known about the shooter’s motives for the attack or his online activities. Although screenshots of fake accounts have been circulating on social media, so far no one has uncovered much information. The Associated Press reported that the shooter was wearing a t-shirt associated with the popular firearms YouTube channel DemolitionRanch. YouTube did not immediately respond to questions about whether it had traced any activity back to the shooter.

Voting records show the shooter was a registered Republican in Pennsylvania, a state that requires voters to register with a major party to vote in primary elections. On the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, a person who shares the same name and address as the shooter donated $15 to a progressive political action committee, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. (The address associated with the donation in the FEC database lists the donor’s city as Pittsburgh, rather than Bethel Park, the suburb where the shooter allegedly resided. But according to Google Maps, it doesn’t appear that such an address actually exists in Pittsburgh.)

Perpetrators of other violent attacks in the past have sometimes discussed their plans online, including on private Discord servers. That’s what happened in 2022, when a white gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, with the intention of targeting black people. The killer had planned and documented the attack on Discord during the months leading up to the shooting; on the day of the attack, he streamed the events live on Twitch, and clips of the violence spread across other platforms.

A gunman who attacked an Iowa high school in January this year also posted on Discord about his plans preceding the shooting. The alleged shooter also posted content on TikTok shortly before the attack, according to NBC News.

TikTok did not immediately respond to questions about whether the company had traced any user accounts back to the Trump rally shooter. Meta also did not respond to questions.