“It is creating terrorists”: Kick Streamer Dan Saltman Links DC Museum Shooter to Twitch

Following a fatal shooting near the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., outspoken Kick streamer Dan "dancantstream" Saltman has fueled controversy by going public with charges that Twitch encouraged a culture that, he says, helped radicalize the shooter.

Deadly Assault and Platform Backlash

The attack in question took place on the evening of May 21, when two employees of the Israeli Embassy and a couple were shot and killed near the Jewish Museum. The suspect, now in jail and accused of murder, was said to have screamed " Free Palestine " while being arrested.

As news broke, Saltman took to X (formerly Twitter), directly tagging Twitch CEO Dan Clancy and alleging that the shooter had previously been an active user on the streaming platform. Saltman stated:“I can confirm he was a @twitch user. Hey @djclancy999 do you think his favorite channel was the same as yours?”

Dan Saltman alleges that the DC Jewish Museum shooter was a Twitch user pic.twitter.com/WtveeFMBtw

— yeet (@Awk20000) May 22, 2025

A Broader Battle: Saltman vs. TwitchSaltman, a habitual Twitch critic and vocal defender of alternative platforms such as Kick, employed the tragedy to support an existing assertion: Twitch encourages extremism. This was in accordance with a highly contentious letter written earlier this year by Congressman Ritchie Torres, who had criticized Twitch streamer Hasan "HasanAbi" Piker and CEO Dan Clancy for promoting anti-Semitic content. Torres stated that HasanAbi was now the "anti-Semitic voice of a systemically anti-Semitic platform," referencing inciting past commentary from the streamer.

Saltman, siding with Torres' opinion, supported this position in a second post:" It is creating terrorists."

I can confirm he was a @twitch user.

Hey @djclancy999 do you think his favorite channel was the same as yours? :)

This is why @RitchieTorres was going off on @amazon_policy and @amazon earlier this year. It is creating terrorists. https://t.co/rfKTrt2XCh

— dancanttweet 🇺🇸🎗️ (@dancantstream) May 22, 2025

Adding fuel to the fire of controversy, Saltman referenced an archived Twitch account he said was owned by the suspect, stating the user had seemingly employed an iteration of their actual name before switching. Although there is no confirmation by the authorities about the suspect's Twitch presence, Saltman's charges hint at increasing discomfort with the power of online communities to affect offline behavior.

As the case develops, Twitch has so far made no formal statement. In the meanwhile, the world of streaming is polarized, with Saltman's remarks eliciting support from right-wing pundits as well as outrage from those who see his comments as opportunistic and inflammatory.

The case highlights a larger cultural conflict in the online media space, one in which influence, ideology, and responsibility increasingly meet in explosive and sometimes deadly manners.