CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 23 (UPI) — Accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof wrote a racist manifesto before the attack and wrote another one later in jail, court documents filed by federal prosecutors indicate.
Roof, 22, had been implicated as the operator of a white supremacist website, The Last Rhodesian, where he shared photos and writings related to race — particularly targeting black people.
On Monday, prosecutors revealed Roof also authored two handwritten manifestos — one of which was found in his vehicle and another in his jail cell. Prosecutors filed a notice of witnesses they expect to call during Roof’s trial, which includes a handwriting expert to answer questions about the manifestos.
Prosecutors said in the court filing they will use all the race-related writings to build a case that gives evidence Roof committed a hate crime when he gunned down nine black churchgoers near the end of a Bible study session at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015.
Roof faces 33 federal charges for the attack to which officials said he confessed. Witnesses for the prosecution will be called to testify, including handwriting analysis experts and white supremacy extremism experts.
“The evidence in this case relating to defendant Roof, including his readings, writings, statements, use of symbols and other expressions, as well as his criminal and related actions, are consistent with the adoption of many of the central tenets of white supremacy extremist ideology, including the belief that violent action is necessary to further the goal of white supremacy over non-white peoples, particularly African Americans,” the court filing states.
“More specifically, the evidence relating to defendant Roof is consistent with the adoption of the belief that ‘white’ people are superior to ‘non-white’ people, particularly African Americans, and therefore should be dominant over non-white people, particularly African Americans.”
