Wednesday, December 16, 2015

FBI Director: San Bernardino Shooters Posted Support For Jihad In Private Messages

“We don’t intercept communication of Americans. We’re not combing through their emails,” James Comey said.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that the San Bernardino shooters did not convey support for jihad on social media posts, but rather in private emails and messages.

Shooters Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook "were communicating online, showing signs of commitment to jihad. These were direct, private messages. [There's] no evidence of posting on social media," Comey said at an event with the New York Police Department.

"We don't intercept communication of Americans. We're not combing through their emails," Comey said.

"We still see in San Bernardino no indication of direct contact with foreign terrorist" organizations, he said, adding there was "no evidence that they are part of organized cell of any sort."

Officials have said that attacker Malik pledged support for Islamic jihad in posts years ago around at the start of the attacks. It's unclear which pledge Comey was referring to in regards to the private messages.

At one point, Facebook said it spotted an account that included a post praising ISIS allegedly published by one of the shooters, and removed the account for violating the company's community standards, a spokesman confirmed.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.



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