How the FBI Downplays Leftist Terror Activity

Pro-Antifa social media accounts are taking a victory lap this week following the announcement that the FBI has ruled out a political motive in the 2019 Dayton, Ohio mass murder of nine people, carried out by Antifa supporter Connor Betts. One of the victims was Betts’ sister.

Betts interacted with multiple Antifa-aligned accounts online, including the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), a Marxist group whose members commonly provide armed support during Antifa actions. Betts himself attended Antifa protests while armed, and made statements calling for killing “every fascist” and urged his comrades to “arm, train, prepare” to oust Trump from office, according evidence unearthed by Andy Ngo, a journalist with a long history of covering Antifa violence. Betts can also be seen in images wearing Satanist and anarchist patches. Betts, dressed all in black and wearing a mask, opened fire on a crowd outside the “traditional western-themed bar” Ned Peppers, before being killed by police.

The FBI appears to have taken none of these known facts into account when it determined:
The evidence from the extensive investigation indicated the perpetrator, Connor Betts, was solely responsible for the injuries and deaths that were a result of his actions. He acted alone and was not directed by any organization or aligned to any specific ideological group.

The FBI instead emphasizes Betts’ apparent fascination with mass shootings of all types, even non-ideological ones, and highlights mental health issues, including obsessive compulsive disorder. It has nothing to say about the death of Betts’ sister either, or whether Betts was aware of his sister’s presence in the crowd.