Speaking on the floor of the United States Senate, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said suspected Charleston shooter Dylann Roof was an example of “Mideast hate.” “That’s something I didn’t think we had here but apparently we do,” he added.
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Graham has dismissed the idea that the Charleston murders had any larger impact. “I just think he was one of these whacked out kids. I don’t think it’s anything broader than that,” Graham said.
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Roof, in fact, appeared to be strongly motivated by white supremacist ideology and allegedly wrote a long manifesto espousing those views. While Graham is focused on threats originating from the Middle East, researchers believe right-wing extremism represents a larger threat.