A D.C. man possibly linked through social media site Gab to the Tree of Life synagogue shooter was arrested on firearms charges.
According to an FBI affidavit reviewed by NBC, Jeffrey Clark, a suspected white nationalist, befriended Robert Bowers on Gab before Bowers allegedly opened fire at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last month, killing 11.
Clark discussed killing Jews and African-Americans on the social media site, the affidavit states. Bowers also made anti-Semitic posts and criticized Trump on Gab, a Twitter-like social networking platform that became a haven for alt-right extremists.
After the shooting in Pittsburgh, Clark claimed that Bowers’ alleged shooting up the synagogue was justified because a same-sex “Jewish couple was having an adopted baby circumcised that week.”
Clark also said on Gab that Bowers is “a hero” and said the victims of the synagogue shooting “deserved exactly what happened to them and so much worse.”
Gab’s domain was shut down shortly after the shooter in Pittsburgh was linked to the site but the site has since found a new provider and is back online.
The affidavit also cites witnesses who claim Clark attended the “Unite the Right” rally last year in Charlottesville, Va., and is photographed next to the white nationalist who allegedly killed a woman after driving a car into a crowd of counter-protesters.
Clark is charged with illegal possession of high-capacity firearms magazines and unlawful guns, and he is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing Friday.
Federal agents say they obtained four boxes of gun parts from Clark and “recognized several items in the boxes as parts used to modify AR-15 assault rifles,” according to court filings.
