New York

Gov. Hochul orders New York State Police to create new unit to fight hate speech online

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the Buffalo grocery store shooting 'is white supremacy in this nation at its worst'

By Emma Colton Fox News
Published

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to "combat domestic terrorism" and investigate violent extremism online following the mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo over the weekend. 

"NEW: We’re proposing a comprehensive plan to combat domestic terrorism, strengthen state gun laws, & investigate social media platforms promoting violent extremism. In wake of the racist act of terror in Buffalo, New York will lead the charge to confront this epidemic head-on," Hochul tweeted Wednesday afternoon. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a news conference at the Brooklyn Army Terminal Annex in the Brooklyn borough of New York Jan. 20, 2022. (Paul Frangipane/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Paul Frangipane/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hochul ordered a new unit led by State Police to track violent extremism online and investigate social media companies that allow for hate speech to be posted on the platforms, the New York Post reported. 

The announcement Wednesday includes an executive order requiring the State Police to seize weapons under the state’s "red flag law" from people determined to be a threat to themselves or others. 

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The actions come after 10 people were fatally shot and three others were wounded in a shooting at a Buffalo grocery store by a self-described White supremacist. 

A person walks past the scene of a shooting at a supermarket, in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sunday. A local man referenced the mass shooting that killed 10 people during alleged threatening calls to two local business, authorities said. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Police secure an area around a supermarket where several people were killed in a shooting, Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, N.Y. Officials said the gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire. Investigators believe the man may have been livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP) (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)

Payton Gendron appears during his arraignment in Buffalo City Court, Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. Gendron was arraigned on first-degree murder charges and ordered detained without bail. Police officials said the 18-year-old was wearing body armor and military-style clothing when he pulled up and opened fire at people at a Tops Friendly Market.  (Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News via AP)

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The shooter was identified as Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, New York. Officials said during a press conference Saturday that evidence shows the shooting was racially motivated, citing a roughly 180-page manifesto that the shooter wrote detailing the attack. 

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"This is white supremacy in this nation at its worst," Hochul said of the shooting on Wednesday. "It’s infecting our society, infecting our nation and now it’s taken members of our family away."

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