Dylann Roof Copycat Detained in South Carolina

By: Mary Kiser


Courtesy of Salon

At almost thirty-years-old, Benjamin McDowel was arrested after buying a gun from an undercover FBI agent. He told law enforcement that he wanted to conduct an attack similar to Dylann Roof’s. According to Salon, McDowel was inspired by the shooter, and he urged other white supremacists to follow in the felon’s footsteps. “McDowel divulged his intention to write ‘In the spirit of Dylann Roof’ on the building of the crime scene. He said he wanted to carry out an attack that was on a big scale and requested a handgun in a later phone call,” according to the online source.

The South Carolina native even wrote about his desires on his Facebook page. He encouraged white people to attack people of color. His wall reads,  

I wish the day we all get off Facebook and white Warriors like we was born to be like Dylan Roof but we gotta do it in a smart away and it takes a team it takes no drugs and party and more planning for the real Victory and not just saying it but should want Bloodshet 2 crave it and be a fanatic for your white race.

On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof brutally shot and killed members of a Charleston church, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was sentenced to death earlier this year, but for criminals, like McDowel, the sentencing’s not a deterrent.

He bought the gun, and he planned to kill people.

In the midst of an uncertain and unsafe time in the United States, it’s difficult for people to hold on to hope. The deepest roots of hatred still grow, but we can cut them down – as a nation united, not divided.