Racist ‘manifesto’ lays bare Charleston motive

Columbia, June 21

A chilling website apparently created by Dylann Roof emerged in which the accused Charleston church shooter rails against African Americans and appears in photographs with guns and burning the US flag.

It came to light as a mournful vigil Friday for the nine black worshippers killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church gave way to anger and protests in Charleston and the state capital Columbia. A rambling 2,500-word manifesto on the website, laced with racist lingo and spelling errors, does not bear the 21-year-old suspected white supremacist’s name.

But its first-person style, its title — “Last Rhodesian” — and references to Charleston and apartheid South Africa suggested he was its author. There were also photos of Roof on the site. Roof, who went on the run after Wednesday’s shooting, was caught a day later in neighbouring North Carolina and is in solitary confinement in jail charged with nine counts of murder.  The FBI said it was “taking steps to verify the authenticity” of the website. 

Somber mourning turned to anger Saturday, with a rally at the state legislature in Columbia, where the Confederate flag has been a focal point for controversy for years. — AFP