The blood had barely dried on the streets of Austin when online sleuths discovered that the man behind the mass shooting had been stalking multiple MAGA women before the attack. A disturbing digital trail of obsession began to emerge, painting a chilling portrait of Ndiaga Diagne, the man behind the trigger.
While the city still reels from the weekend's violence, digital forensic enthusiasts uncovered Diagne's history of predatory behaviour and political fixation. The massacre has ignited a nationwide conversation about the intersection of targeted harassment and domestic extremism.
Ndiaga Diagne Stalks High Profile MAGA Women
The most alarming aspect of the suspect's history is his documented obsession with several high-profile political figures. Diagne's digital footprint indicates that he had been tracking multiple prominent women within the MAGA movement, including Laura Loomer and Valentina Gomez, and had directed unwanted and persistent attention towards Ivanka Trump. The nature of this stalking involved tracking their public appearances and maintaining a constant stream of aggressive direct messages.
The terrorist in last night's Austin attack was stalking multiple women on X@LauraLoomer @ValentinaForUSA @IvankaTrump
— 0HOUR1 (@0hour1) March 1, 2026
And some others
He was escalating on X pic.twitter.com/JIAUjK7LM8
In posts on X, Diagne repeatedly targeted Loomer in particular, leaving aggressive and racially offensive comments beneath her posts. When Loomer criticised Candace Owens, calling the commentator the 'biggest grifter', Diagne responded with a racist and misogynistic tirade directed at Loomer. In a separate exchange in October 2025, after Loomer announced changes to how she supported Republican candidates, Diagne commented that her 'free ride is coming to an end.' He directed similarly racially abusive comments at Texas Republican candidate Valentina Gomez beneath one of her posts.
Despite this pattern of hostility towards conservative women, social media users who examined his account noted a conspicuous exception: his apparent admiration for Owens. 'He loved Candace though!' one wrote. Another added: 'Was a Candace fanboy.' This paradoxical behaviour has confounded investigators, as Diagne appeared to oscillate between admiration for Owens and aggression towards her contemporaries.
Was a Candace fanboyhttps://t.co/CeBSd9VCa9
— Anama 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@AnamaMOSS) March 1, 2026
He loved Candace though! pic.twitter.com/oN2a3GcA0v
— Paintress April 🎨 American Artist (@PaintressApril) March 1, 2026
Austin Mass Shooting
The Austin shooting occurred in the early hours of Sunday outside Buford's Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street. Diagne, 53, reportedly drove past the venue multiple times in a large SUV before opening fire on patrons on the patio, killing three and leaving 14 others injured, before being shot dead by police at a nearby intersection.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has taken a lead role in the investigation, citing indicators in the suspect's vehicle suggesting a potential nexus to international terrorism. Diagne, a naturalised US citizen originally from Senegal, was found wearing a sweatshirt with an Iranian flag design and a hoodie marked 'Property of Allah.'
The timing of the attack has drawn investigators' attention to the escalating situation in the Middle East. The shooting occurred less than 24 hours after a joint US-Israeli military operation resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The FBI is examining whether Diagne's actions were a direct response to those events, and whether a confirmed terrorism link would indicate that the strikes in Tehran have fundamentally altered the domestic security landscape.
As Austin mourns, the broader implications of Diagne's actions continue to challenge the current understanding of domestic security and military endurance.
