LINK : CLICK HERE
August 19, 2022
Mr. Andrew Torba
Chief Executive Officer
Gab
700 North State Street
Clarks Summit, PA 18411
Dear Mr. Torba:
We write regarding your company’s response to the surge of online threats against law
enforcement following the execution of a court-authorized search warrant by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club. We are concerned that
reckless statements by the former President and Republican Members of Congress have
unleashed a flood of violent threats on social media that have already led to at least one death
and pose a danger to law enforcement officers across the United States. We urge you to take
immediate action to address any threats of violence against law enforcement that appear on your
company’s platforms.
On August 8, 2022, the FBI conducted a search at Mr. Trump’s private club in
connection with the former President’s potential violations of the Espionage Act, the Presidential
Records Act, and other federal laws. Following the search, former President Trump and House
Republicans lashed out at the FBI and law enforcement more generally. While FBI agents were
executing the court-approved search warrant, former President Trump released a statement
claiming his home was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”1
He
later claimed, without evidence, that the FBI may have planted evidence.2
House Minority
Leader Kevin McCarthy accused the Department of Justice of being “weaponized” against
former President Trump. Minority Whip Steve Scalise suggested that the FBI agents executing
the warrant had gone “rogue.”3
Republican Members of Congress wrote on Twitter, “We must
1 FBI Executes Search Warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago in Document Investigation, CNN (Aug. 9, 2022)
(online at www.cnn.com/2022/08/08/politics/mar-a-lago-search-warrant-fbi-donald-trump/index.html).
2 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (Aug. 10, 2022) (online at
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/108798211943189544).
3 See McCarthy Threatens to Probe Garland After Trump FBI Raid, The Hill (Aug. 8, 2022) (online at
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3593582-mccarthy-threatens-to-probe-garland-after-trump-fbi-raid/);
Asked About Threats to FBI, Scalise Claims Without Evidence that Agents Went ‘Rogue’, Washington Post (Aug.
11, 2022) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/11/trump-fbi-search-scalise-republicans/).
destroy the FBI,” “Lock Them Up!!!” and “Defund the corrupt FBI!”4
Former Vice President
Mike Pence felt compelled to call out these statements by Republican leaders and implored them
that “these attacks on the F.B.I. must stop.”5
These statements coincided with a spike in social media users calling for civil war and
violence toward law enforcement. One user on Truth Social posted, “Fuck the Feds! The
Second Amendment is not about shooting deer! Lock and load!” Another wrote, “Arm
yourselves! We are about to enter into Civil War!”6
On August 12, 2022, the FBI and the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Joint Intelligence Bulletin warning about this
sharp rise in threats, noting an “increase in violent threats posted on social media against federal
officials and facilities.” 7
The head of the FBI Agents Association warned that the threats against
FBI agents are “real” and “imminent.”8
Unfortunately, this rhetoric has already led to attacks against federal law enforcement,
including an FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Following the FBI’s execution of the search
warrant at Mar-a-Lago, a now-deleted post from a Truth Social account bearing the attacker’s
name implored others to “be ready for combat” and to “respond with force.”9
On August 11, the
attacker attempted to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati field office while wearing body armor and
armed with an AR-15-style weapon. After exchanging gunfire with law enforcement officers, he
was fatally shot.10
On August 15, a Pennsylvania man was arrested and charged with making threats of
violence against FBI personnel. He wrote on the social media platform Gab, “If You Work For
4 Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar), Twitter (Aug. 8, 2022) (online at
https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/1556821907726630915); Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG), Twitter
(Aug. 15, 2022) (online at https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1559166615454990337); Rep. Marjorie Taylor
Greene (@RepMTG), Twitter (Aug. 15, 2022) (online at
https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1559242579375439873).
5 Pence Calls on Republicans to Stop Assailing the F.B.I. After Mar-a-Lago Search, New York Times
(Aug. 17, 2022) (online at www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/us/politics/pence-fbi-jan-6.html).
6 Anti-Defamation League, Search of Former President’s Florida Home Sparks Online Calls for Violence
(Aug. 8, 2022) (online at www.adl.org/resources/blog/search-former-presidents-florida-home-sparks-online-callsviolence).
7 FBI and DHS Warn Threats to Federal Law Enforcement Have Spiked Since Mar-a-Lago Search, NBC
News (Aug. 14, 2022) (online at www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fbi-dhs-warn-threats-federal-lawenforcement-spiked-wake-mar-lago-sear-rcna43024); Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein), Twitter (Aug. 13,
2022) (online at https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein/status/1558597533198327808).
8 Threat Against Federal Law Enforcement ‘Imminent,’ Official Says, KKTV (Aug. 16, 2022) (online at
www.kktv.com/2022/08/16/threat-against-federal-law-enforcement-imminent-official-says/).
9 Man Shot Dead after Trying to Storm FBI Office Posted a ‘Call to Arms’, New York Post (Aug. 12, 2022)
(online at https://nypost.com/2022/08/12/suspect-who-tried-to-storm-fbi-posted-a-call-to-arms/).
10 Ohio Man Was on the F.B.I.’s Radar for Months, New York Times (Aug. 12, 2022) (online at
www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/ricky-shiffer-fbi-cincinnati.html); Armed Man Who Was at Capitol on Jan. 6 is
Fatally Shot after Firing into an FBI Field Office in Cincinnati, NBC News (Aug. 11, 2022) (online at
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/armed-man-shoots-fbi-cincinnati-building-nail-gun-flees-leading-intersrcna42669).
Mr. Andrew Torba
Page 3
The FBI Then You Deserve To Die.” He also wrote, “Every single piece of shit who works for
the FBI in any capacity, from the director down to the janitor who cleans their fucking toilets
deserves to die. You’ve declared war on us and now it’s open season on YOU.”11
FBI agents have also been targeted by individuals seeking to expose the agents’ identities
and personal information online. On August 12, 2022, a former White House aide to President
Trump released the personal information of two individuals he identified as FBI agents involved
in the search warrant on social media—a practice known as doxxing. The names and personal
information of the agents, as well as information about one of the agent’s wife and child, were
posted to Truth Social and Telegram. The former Trump Administration official wrote, “Hope
he doesn’t get a good night’s sleep for the rest of 2022.” This information has since been
removed from Truth Social.12
Violent rhetoric and personal threats and attacks toward law enforcement officers have
deadly consequences. One retired FBI special agent explained, “All of this rhetoric is being
thrown around without any consideration for possible consequences,” noting: “All that does is
stir up that minority within the base that aren’t satisfied with just words, they actually want to act
it out.”13
The Committee strongly supports the First Amendment rights of all Americans to speak
out about the actions of their government and law enforcement matters, including on social
media platforms. However, threats and incitements of deadly violence are unacceptable and
against the law. The Committee is seeking to understand how your company responds when
users post threats against law enforcement, how your company plans to prevent your platform
from being used to incite violence against law enforcement personnel, and whether legislative
reform is necessary to protect law enforcement personnel and increase coordination with federal
authorities.
For all these reasons, please provide written answers to the following questions by
September 2, 2022:
- Since August 8, 2022, how many threats against federal law enforcement has your
company identified on its platform?
a. How many of these threats were removed from your platform? How many
were reported to law enforcement?
11 Department of Justice, Press Release: Man Arrested for Making Threats of Violence Against FBI (Aug.
15, 2022) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-arrested-making-threats-violence-against-fbi).
12 Ex-Trump Aide Sics MAGA Lackeys on Alleged FBI Agents’ Families, Daily Beast (Aug. 12, 2022)
(online at www.thedailybeast.com/ex-trump-aide-sics-maga-lackeys-on-alleged-fbi-agents-families).
13 GOP Trump Supporters Escalate Dark Rhetoric After FBI Search, PBS (Aug. 12, 2022) (online at
www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/gop-trump-supporters-escalate-dark-rhetoric-after-fbi-search).
Mr. Andrew Torba
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b. How many of the threats reported to law enforcement were related to the
search warrant executed on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
residence, to the FBI, or to the Department of Homeland Security? - What are your company’s policies, procedures, and practices for removing threats
from your platform and reporting threats to law enforcement?
a. What is the threshold for a threat to be removed from your platform, and
how does your company determine this threshold?
b. What resources does your company use in identifying threats on your
platform, including, but not limited to the number of employees assigned
to content moderation? - Has your platform experienced an increase in the number of threats related to law
enforcement or a change in the nature or specificity of these threats since August
8, 2022? If so, please explain.
Please produce the following documents by September 2, 2022: - All documents regarding your company’s policies, procedures, and practices in
addressing threats and incitement of violence on your platform, including, but not
limited to, training materials; and - All advertisements shown alongside posts that were reported to law enforcement
or removed by your company for threatening law enforcement.
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the
House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under
House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional instructions for responding to the
Committee’s request. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact
Committee staff at (202) 225-5051.
Sincerely,
Carolyn B. Maloney Stephen F. Lynch
Chairwoman Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security
Enclosure
cc: The Honorable James Comer, Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Reform
Mr. Andrew Torba
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The Honorable Glenn Grothman, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on National Security