Nikolas Cruz, 19, who killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, went before a judge Thursday. Image by Getty

By Ari Feldman February 16, 2018

Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida, high school Wednesday afternoon, has no ties to the white supremacist militia the Republic of Florida, local law enforcement told the Tallahassee Democrat.

On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League reported that Cruz trained with the ROF based on the testimony of the group’s leader, Jordan Jereb. The report contained quotes from the leader attesting to Cruz’s participation in shooting and training exercises, and noted that the ROF’s goal is to create a “white ethnostate” in Florida.

The ADL’s report went off like a bang in the media coverage of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But Jereb quickly backtracked on his words on the micro-blogging site Gab.ai, which is favored by the far right.

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“There was a legit misunderstanding because we have MULTIPLE people named Nicholas in ROF,” Jereb wrote. Jereb also blamed a lack of sleep and being confused by questions from reporters. “Are you really going to blame ME for the lying jew media? We know they are liars. Fuck em.”

A reporter for the Daily Beast released more quotes from his interview with Jereb, showing that Jereb clearly tied Cruz to the militia.

“I’ve been in the same room as the guy but I don’t know the guy,” Jereb said.

A researcher for Right Wing Watch also noted that prominent neo-Nazis and white supremacists, such as Andrew Anglin, were heavily criticizing Jereb for spreading misinformation.

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman

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