I am absolutely aware of the book and it’s contents as I have read it. Reading extremist material is part of what I do. How can anyone speak on something they have no experience with?

While the book itself WAS NOT the only contributing factor, you can easily see how it drove him to target his community specifically. In his own writings he expressed displeasure with “mestizos” and Silicon Valley “white twats" which is what the population of Gilroy represents.

The connection between his own words, his community, and his actions are not lost on me. It’s about so much more than just a book. It always is. There’s nothing cut and dry about the motivations of racists or bigoted extremists - as some of those motivations intersect in many different ways.

For example, an anti-Semite may have that commonality with a neo-nazi or a Klansmen but it can sometimes end there. But, if they all refer to the same reading material, idols, and ideologies as their motivator, the similarities begin to expand and connect in more ways.

Additionally, a person doesn’t have to be associated with any group to be a white supremacist — or any other type of extremist for that matter. But being a member of white nationalist communities online, along with his views, followed by his actions, is more than enough to draw that conclusion.