Just moments before the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 people dead, the suspect apparently posted a final social media rant against a Jewish refugee settlement agency most people had never heard of.
But the group, HIAS (HY-as), has increasingly become a target of right-wing extremists.
Formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, HIAS is among nine groups that contract with the State Department to help refugees settle in the United States.
Analysts say the fixation extremists have with HIAS appears to be fueled by a mix of anti-Semitism and the recent caustic rhetoric about an immigrant caravan trudging toward the United States.
A HIAS spokesman says the group supports the right of asylum seekers to have a fair hearing but stressed it has no connection to the caravan.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
