Grassley: Government Must Do Better to Follow Processes to Prevent Gun Violence
BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck
Grassley today is asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Google, Inc., which owns YouTube, to explain why warnings
about threats by the man who later carried out the tragic mass-shooting at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., did not result in
preventative action by law enforcement.
“See something, say something. That’s what the government asks of its citizens. But the government must also follow through when vigilant Americans speak up, and the government is responsible for following the laws and regulations on the books designed to prevent tragedies like the one in Parkland. Last fall in Sutherland Springs, Texas, we saw the horrible result of the government’s failure to correctly submit names to the NICS registry. And now we are witnessing what happens when federal agencies fail to follow multiple tips about a clearly disturbed and dangerous individual. The government must do better to follow these existing processes to prevent future tragedies. I hope that Director Wray will work quickly to address the breakdowns at the FBI and to cooperate fully with the Judiciary Committee’s oversight efforts. The public deserves answers and accountability so these mistakes are not repeated,” Grassley said.
According to news reports,
the FBI received a tip in September about threats made in a YouTube comment,
apparently by Nikolas Cruz, indicating a desire to carry out a school shooting.
Though the FBI investigated the tip, it was reportedly unable to identify the
actual person who posted the comment. On January 5, the FBI received another
tip from a person close to Cruz warning of his violent tendencies and access to
a firearm. That tip was not passed along to the appropriate field office for
further investigation.
In a letter today to the FBI
and Google, Grassley is seeking details on the steps taken to investigate both
tips, to identify what information was available, and to explain where breakdowns
occurred. Grassley’s letter to Google asks whether law enforcement requested information
on the YouTube comment and whether Google maintained information that would
have assisted in identifying the individual responsible for the threatening
posts.
February 16, 2018
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Christopher
Wray
Director
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20535
Dear Director Wray:
I write to request a
comprehensive briefing for Senate Judiciary Committee staff regarding the
February 14th mass-shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
in Parkland, Florida, no later than February 23, 2018. According to news reports, the FBI received
information regarding the shooter, Nikolas Jacob Cruz, from concerned citizens
as early as September 2017 and as late as January 5, 2018.[1] It is important to thoroughly understand what
the FBI did and did not do to follow up on this information. The FBI is tasked with investigating
individuals who may be a public safety threat.
During a February 15th
media briefing, Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) Robert F. Lasky confirmed that
the FBI received information in 2017 about a comment posted on YouTube which
stated, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” [2] In a subsequent statement, the FBI
explained, “No other information was included in the comment which would
indicate a particular time, location, or the true identity of the person who
posted the comment.”[3] But, in fact, it appears that the comment was
posted under the name “Nikolas Cruz,” which of course is the same name as the
shooter. [4] SAIC Lasky concluded his comments to the
press by saying, “The FBI conducted database reviews, checks, but was unable to
further identify the person who actually made the comment.”[5] Media reports indicate that Mr. Cruz posted
threats on YouTube and other sites, including his personal Instagram account.
These threats included, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter,” “I
whana [sic] shoot people with my AR-15,” “I wanna die Fighting killing s**t ton
of people,” and “I am going to kill law enforcement one day they go after the
good people.”[6] The first threat was reported to the FBI in
September 2017.[7]
The person who provided the
original tip to the FBI identified himself as Ben Bennight of Mississippi.
[8] In a video he posted online following the
shooting, Mr. Bennight states that immediately after seeing the alarming
YouTube post by “Nikolas Cruz” on September 24, 2017, he notified YouTube and the
FBI through an email address for online tips.
Mr. Bennight states that the email address he used, tips@fbi.gov, did
not properly work and therefore he contacted his local FBI office by phone. He states that the following day, two agents
interviewed him at his place of work and he shared what information he had on
the posting made by “Nikolas Cruz.”[9] In the same online video posted by Mr.
Bennight, he states that following the tragic shooting in Parkland, FL, he was
again interviewed by FBI in Mississippi, and that he also received a call from
the FBI’s Miami Field Office.[10]
Additionally, today the FBI
announced it received a call on January 5, 2018, from a person close to Cruz
who reported concerns about his violent tendency, his desire to kill people,
“as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting.”[11] The FBI indicated that the information was
not forwarded to the Miami Field Office for investigative follow up.
To better understand what
steps the FBI took to investigate Cruz, please provide a briefing and a written
response to the following questions:
1.
Did the FBI open an
assessment, a preliminary inquiry, or criminal investigation based on the tip
from Mr. Bennight in September 2017? If
so, how many FBI offices were involved in the investigation? If not, why not?
2.
What steps did the FBI take
to attempt to identify “Nikolas Cruz,” the name associated with the YouTube
post, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter,” and other threats? Was the FBI able to narrow down a list of potential
suspects with the same name and were any of them interviewed? If not, why not?
3.
Did the FBI contact YouTube
or its parent company Google in an attempt to identify the “Nikolas Cruz” who
posted the threat that was reported to the FBI in September 2017? If so, did the FBI receive any information to
assist in identifying the author of the post or his location? If not, why not? Has the FBI confirmed whether the author of
the post and the school shooter are in fact the same individual?
4.
Did the FBI contact Instagram
or its parent company Facebook in an attempt to identify the
“nikolascruzmakarov” and “cruz_nikolas” who posted pictures of firearms?[12] If so, did the FBI receive any information to
assist in identifying the author of the posts or his location? If not, why not? Has the FBI confirmed whether the author of
these posts and the school shooter are in fact the same individual?
5.
What was the purpose of the
FBI’s second interview with Mr. Bennight on February 14th, the day
of the shooting in Parkland, FL? Did the
FBI have reason to believe he possessed additional information beyond what he
previously provided to investigators in September 2017? Did the FBI have any contact with Mr.
Bennight between his interview in September 2017 and his interview on February
14, 2018?
6.
Was the email address
tips@fbi.gov ever a valid location for members of the public to send tips to
the FBI? If so, was it ever
deactivated?
7.
Please describe any and all
interactions the FBI had with local and state officials regarding Cruz before
the February 14th shooting.
8.
Please provide a copy of the
actual tip received by the FBI on January 5, 2018, before the requested
briefing.
9.
Did the FBI make any effort
to cross-reference the name Nikolas Cruz when received on January 5, 2018,
against the name Nikolas Cruz which was received by the FBI on or about
September 24, 2017? If not, why not?
10. What immediate steps has the FBI taken to
ensure that tips received by the public are properly disseminated to the corresponding
field office?
I anticipate that your
written reply and most responsive documents will be unclassified. Please send
all unclassified material directly to the Committee. In keeping with the
requirements of Executive Order 13526, if any of the responsive documents do
contain classified information, please segregate all unclassified material
within the classified documents; provide all unclassified information directly
to the Committee, and provide a classified addendum to the Office of Senate Security.
Although the Committee complies with all laws and regulations
governing the handling of
classified information, it is not bound, absent its prior agreement, by any
handling restrictions.
Should you have any
questions, please contact Josh Flynn-Brown of my Judiciary Committee staff at
(202) 224-5225.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
Cc:
The Honorable Dianne
Feinstein
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on the
Judiciary
February 16, 2018
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
Sundar Pichai
Chief Executive Officer
Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Mountain View, CA 94043
Dear Mr. Pichai:
I am writing you concerning
the mass shooting which occurred on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, FL that took the lives of 17 students and
teachers, and which seriously injured over a dozen others. News reports indicate that the FBI received a
tip on or about September 24, 2017, that a person with the YouTube username
“Nikolas Cruz” posted the comment, “I’m going to be a professional school
shooter,” in response to a video posted by a YouTube user named Ben Bennight.[13] It is the Committee’s duty to conduct
oversight of the DOJ and FBI and in that light it is important that the
Committee understand the steps the FBI took with Google to ascertain Cruz’s
identity and what, if any, response Google provided.
Accordingly, please provide a
briefing for Committee staff no later than February 23, 2018 to address the
following questions:
1. Did Google ever receive a request from the FBI
or any other law enforcement agency seeking information regarding the username
“Nikolas Cruz”? If so, what law
enforcement agency made the request, what was the date of the request, and what
information was provided in response to the request?
2. Assuming that a request for information was not
received, what information could have been provided to law enforcement agencies
to either identify the individual or the individual’s location?
3. Five months after the threatening post was made
by the username “Nikolas Cruz,” is Google still able to provide any information
about the identity or location of the user?
Since the shooting, what additional information has been provided, and
to which law enforcement agencies, about this user and under what legal
process?
4. According to news reports, Mr. Bennight
reported Mr. Cruz’s comment to YouTube, and it was subsequently removed.[14] What steps, if any, did Google take to report
the comment to law enforcement authorities?
If steps were taken, what response, if any, was received? If no steps were taken, why not?
Thank you in advance for your
prompt attention to these matters.
Please respond in writing to the list of questions no later than March
16, 2018. Should you have any questions,
please contact Josh Flynn-Brown of my staff at (202) 224-5225.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
Cc:
The Honorable Dianne
Feinstein
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on the
Judiciary
-30-
[1] Julie Turkewitz,
Patricia Mazzei, and Audra D.S. Burch, “Suspect Confessed to Police that He
Began Shooting Students ‘in the Hallways,’” The New York Times (February 16,
2018). Accessible at
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/florida-shooting.html
[2] Katherine Lam,
“Nikolas Cruz ‘school shooter’ comment reported to FBI months ago, vlogger
says,” Fox News (February 15, 2018).
Accessible at
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/15/nikolas-cruz-school-shooter-comment-reported-to-fbi-months-ago-vlogger-says.html
[3] Id.
[4] Jule Turkewitz,
Patricia Mazzei, and Audra D.S. Burch, “Suspect Confessed to Police that He
Began Shooting Students ‘in the Hallways,” The New York Times (February 16,
2018). Accessible at
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/florida-shooting.html
[5] “FBI investigates
whether disturbing YouTube comment was posted by Fla. shooting suspect,” CBS
News (February 15, 2018). Accessible at
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-says-he-warned-fbi-about-youtube-comment-allegedly-posted-by-fla-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz/
[6] Eliott C.
McLaughlin, “Social media paints picture of racist ‘professional school
shooter,” CNN (February 15, 2018). Accessible at
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/nikolas-cruz-florida-shooting-suspect/index.html
[7] Drew Griffin,
Scott Glover, Jose Pagliery and Kyung Lah, “From ‘broken child’ to mass
killer,” CNN (February 16, 2018).
Accessible at
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/16/us/shooter-profile-invs/index.html
[8] “FBI investigates
whether disturbing YouTube comment was posted by Fla. shooting suspect,” CBS News
(February 15, 2018). Accessible at
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-says-he-warned-fbi-about-youtube-comment-allegedly-posted-by-fla-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz/
[9] Therese Apel,
“YouTube comment under name of Florida shooting suspect brings FBI to Mississippian’s
door,” The Clarion Ledger (February 15, 2018).
Accessible at
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2018/02/15/nikolas-cruz-youtube-fbi-mississippi-bail-bondsmans-door/340580002/
[10] Id.
[11] Mark Berman and
Matt Zapotosky, “The FBI said it failed to act on a tip warning of the
suspected Florida school shooter’s potential for violence,” The Washington Post
(February 16, 2018). Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/02/16/as-florida-town-mourns-authorities-revisit-possible-warning-signs-before-school-massacre/?utm_term=.4e484084a8c8
[12] It has also come
to the Committee’s attention that in addition to the posts Nikolas Cruz made on
YouTube, he also may have used Instagram pages with the usernames “nikolascruzmakarov”
and “cruz_nikolas.” On these pages, Cruz posted numerous disturbing photos
including an arsenal of firearms displayed across a bed, homemade targets with
bullet holes, a bloodied toad he claims to have killed, and photos of him
holding numerous knives and firearms, including a rifle which he aims at a
neighboring residence. Again, it does
not appear that Cruz made any real effort to conceal his identity by the fact
that he used his actual name in his Instagram usernames, just as he did on his
posts to YouTube which caused Mr. Bennight to alert the FBI in the first place.
Biana Peters, “Florida School Shooting:
Accused Gunman’s Social Media Paints Disturbing Image,” CBS Miami,
(February 15, 2018). Accessible at
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/02/15/florida-school-shooting-nikolas-cruz-social-media-guns-marjory-stoneman-douglas/
[13] Dakin Andone, “FBI was
warned about alleged shooter nearly 5 months ago, tipster says,”
CNN (Feb. 15, 2018). Available
at: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/us/nikolas-cruz-fbi-warned/index.html;
Natalie Musumeci and Max Jaeger, “YouTuber: I tipped FBI about alleged Florida
shooter last year,” New York Post (Feb. 15, 2018). Available at:
https://nypost.com/2018/02/15/youtuber-i-tipped-fbi-about-alleged-florida-shooter-last-year/
[14] Therese Apel, “YouTube
comment under name of Florida shooting suspect brings FBI to Mississippian’s
door,” The Clarion Ledger (February 15, 2018).
Accessible at https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2018/02/15/nikolas-cruz-youtube-fbi-mississippi-bail-bondsmans-door/340580002/
