The leader of a white nationalist militia says Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was a member of the Republic of Florida (ROF), a white supremacy group that claims to support the “creation of a white ethnostate.”
Jordan Jereb, the purported leader of the group, told The Associated Press that his group wants Florida to become its own white ethnostate and that his group holds “spontaneous random demonstrations” and tries not to participate in the modern world.
The ROF describes itself on its website as a “white civil rights organization.” Its short-term goals are to “occupy urban areas to recruit suburban young whites.” According to the Anti-Defamation League, the white supremacist group has a presence in north and south Florida and has adopted paramilitary principles from anti-government militias.
Jereb told the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that the alleged suspect, who gunned down 17 people at a Florida high school on Wednesday, was “brought up” by a fellow member, attended at least one ROF training exercise in Tallahassee, and carpooled with other people in the ROF.
