8chan owner heading to US as lawmakers seek answers
By FRANK BAJAK
AP Cybersecurity Writer
BOSTON (AP) - The owner of the online message board 8chan says he's headed shortly to the United States.
Jim Watkins lives in the Philippines. U.S. lawmakers want to question him on his site's use as a megaphone by violent white supremacists.
Watkins isn't specifically saying he would testify, but he tweeted portions of an email he said he had sent to House Homeland Security Committee leaders expressing willingness to speak by phone.
8chan was effectively knocked offline Monday after two companies cut off vital technical services in response to word that the gunman who killed 22 people at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart on Saturday posted a racist anti-Latino "manifesto" to the site.
8chan was already well-known for trafficking in anonymous hate speech and incitement of hate crimes.
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