SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas – There's no evidence that a man who killed 26 people in an attack on a rural Texas church Sunday was connected to an anti-fascist movement, despite claims made in a viral story from a conspiracy theorist site.
The widely shared article from YourNewsWire also falsely claims shooter Devin Kelley was carrying an antifa flag and there was a second gunman.
Authorities have given no indication that the shooter was connected to antifa or that there was another gunman. Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin says the mass shooting stemmed from a domestic situation and was not racially or religiously motivated.
The antifa movement is comprised of far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists and has become a target of some right-leaning websites.
YourNewsWire is a well-known site that traffics in conspiracy theories sometimes based on false information.
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This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.
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This story has been corrected to show the shooter's first name is Devin, not David.
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