Online hate speech haven 8chan stifled
The online message board 8chan was effectively knocked offline Monday after two companies cut off vital technical services following the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, whose accused perpetrator was linked to the site.
8chan is known for trafficking in anonymous hate speech and incitement of hate crimes. A racist manifesto posted to the site is believed to have been written by the suspect in Saturday’s killing of 22 people in El Paso, Texas. That would be the third known instance of a shooter posting to the site before going on a rampage, following mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques in the spring and another at a California synagogue.
Late Sunday, security company Cloudflare announced it was cutting off the message board, which has a history of use by violent extremists, for being “a cesspool of hate.”
8chan quickly found a new online host: Sammamish, Wash.- based Epik. com, whose site declares it “the Swiss bank of domains.” Epik provides similar support for Gab. com, another social media site frequented by white supremacists that doesn’t ban hate speech.
Gab is where the man accused of massacring 11 people last October in a Squirrel Hill synagogue posted antiSemitic vitriol.
Epik also owns security company BitMitigate, which protects websites from denial-of- service attacks that can make them unreachable.
But on Monday, Voxility, a provider of network hardware and services, upended both Epik and BitMitigate by terminating its contract with the companies.
R. Kelly charged again
The criminal sex scandal surrounding R& B singer R. Kelly has spread to Minnesota, where he is charged with soliciting a minor for sexual purposes 18 years ago, the Hennepin County attorney’s office announced Monday.
It’s the latest charge against the artist, born Robert Kelly. He was indicted last month in New York — where he is in federal custody — on 18 federal counts including kidnapping, forced labor, sending child pornography across state lines, and obstruction of justice for making hush- money payments to victims. He has pleaded not guilty. He also faces sexual assault charges in Illinois.
County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the felony counts of prostitution with an individual under 18, and another soliciting sex with a person under 18.
Mr. Freeman said the alleged incident occurred in July 2001 when the victim was attempting to get an autograph from Mr. Kelly during a promotional event in downtown Minneapolis before a concert. Charges say he gave her his phone number and told her to call him. She called and was directed to go to a Minneapolis hotel, where she met with a member of his staff and was led to his suite. She was offered $ 200 to dance nude for Mr. Kelly, which she accepted, Mr. Freeman said.
4th GOP rep. to retire
Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas announced on Monday that he plans to retire, becoming the fourth Republican House member from Texas in recent weeks to head for the exits rather than face re- election in 2020 in a state that is rapidly becoming more competitive.
Mr. Marchant, who was first elected in 2004, won his suburban Dallas district comfortably for over a decade, but last year he prevailed by only three points against a Democratic opponent who had relatively modest financial resources. Mr. Marchant, a reliably conservative vote, sits on the influential Ways and Means Committee.
A total of 11 House Republicans now plan to retire or seek another office in 2020; just three House Democrats have announced they won’t run again.