A day after Jordan Jereb, the leader of the white nationalist group Republic of Florida, had confirmed high school shooter Nikolas Cruz was a group member, he is now backtracking on his comments.
The Associated Press reports Jereb has since taken to social media, denying Cruz had any involvement in the group.
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“There was a legit misunderstanding because we have MULTIPLE people named Nicholas in ROF, and I got a bunch of conflicting information and I have not slept for like 2 days, And so when they call me up and ask me yes or no questions, Its easy for them to misrepresent what I say.”
In the initial report, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz’s connection to the group was “not confirmed at this time” but that it would be part of the investigation.
Jereb’s initial claim of Cruz’s involvement read, “This is a difficult subject. I’ve been taking calls all day on it. I’m many things, but I’m not a liar. I can’t lie. He was part of our organizaton. He wasn’t particularly active in it, but at some point he came to Tallahassee with I believe the Clearwater ROF. I know he didn’t live in Clearwater, but I think that was the company he clicked up with.”
Jereb has since stated that he did in fact lie about Cruz.
Wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday and opened fire as class was still in session. Fourteen kids were killed, along with three teachers.
Cruz attempted to escape via the panic as kids ran out of the building but was captured by police within hours. On Thursday he was charged with 17 accounts of premeditated murder, and a police report shows that he confessed to committing the crimes.
Cruz was known as an “outsider” prior to his expulsion from the school in 2017 and reportedly had an affinity for guns.
