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Alleged Manifesto Of Dylann Roof Confirms Motivation For South Carolina Murders

CREDIT: PHOTO VIA LASTRHODESIAN.COM
CREDIT: PHOTO VIA LASTRHODESIAN.COM

A reverse Whois domain name lookup by Twitter users @HenryKrinkle and @EmmaQuangel has revealed a manifesto that appears to be written by Dylann Roof, the white 21-year-old who recently confessed to the brutal murders of nine black people at the historic Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

If the manifesto is authentic, it will undoubtedly serve as confirmation for what motivated Roof when he opened fire on members of a Bible study group on Wednesday. Indeed, if authentic, the document would confirm Roof’s motivation was not to attack Christians or Christianity, as many have claimed.

“I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country,” the document reads. “We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.”

That Roof’s motivation was hatred against black people does not come as a surprise. Following the shooting, Roof was quoted as follows: “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.” The South Carolina native had been photographed wearing a jacket bearing flags representing two African countries where whites once ruled blacks, and reportedly told friends he wanted to start a race war.

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Still, some have been reluctant to admit the nature of the crime, including some candidates for president. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry called the shooting deaths of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C. an “accident,” while Rick Santorum characterized it as “an assault on our religious liberty.” Santorum later walked those comments back.

By contrast, the document allegedly written by Roof is a sickening diatribe against people of color and Jewish people. Black people are referred to with racial slurs, as “lower beings,” and are described as “stupid and violent.” Hispanics are described as a “huge problem for Americans,” and the author speaks of a desire to “destroy the jewish identity.” The author speaks frequently about white people being victimized by blacks. “Every White person is treated as if they had a slave owning ancestor,” it reads.

As for how the author — allegedly Roof — came to these conclusions, the document cites the historic case of Trayvon Martin, in which the unarmed 17-year-old black man was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. The author said he “was unable to understand what the big deal was. … But more importantly” the case prompted him “to type in the words ‘black on White crime’ into Google.” There, the author said, he found cases where white people were murdered by black people. “I have never been the same since that day,” the document reads.

Indeed, many of the author’s motivations appear to come from fringe areas of the internet, and it cites a desire to go beyond “talking on the internet” about these ideas and take action. In light of that, ThinkProgress has decided not to link to the document in full at this time.