A website with what appear to be photos of Dylann Roof, the Charleston church shooting suspect, contains a manifesto-like diatribe against non-whites; the author writes of being motivated by the Trayvon Martin case and concludes that there is "no choice" but to "take it to the real world."
Several photos – some that appear to show Roof posing with weapons and a Confederate battle flag — are on the site, titled "The Last Rhodesian." Some of them contain the number 1488, which has numerological significance for the white supremacist movement.
It was not possible for NPR to immediately confirm the authenticity of the website, and the writings are unsigned. However, the domain was registered on February 9, 2015 and The New York Times says it was to the name Dylann Roof.
A link on the homepage of the site goes to a long, plain-text rant. In it, the author claims "I was not raised in a racist home or environment."
"The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case," the text reads. "I kept hearing and seeing his name, and eventually I decided to look him up. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right."
The manifesto then details the writer's attitudes toward various racial and minority groups, pronouncing blacks "the biggest problem for Americans" and blaming Jews for "agitation of the black race."
"Segregation was not a bad thing. It was a defensive measure. Segregation did not exist to hold back negroes. It existed to protect us from them," the writer says.
The diatribe concludes with a section headed "An Explanation," which concludes:
"I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. 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. 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."
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