Man named in Roof’s manifesto donated top Republican candidates: Report
The presidential campaigns of several US Republican candidates, including Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, have reportedly been funded by the leader of a white supremacist group that has been linked to Dylann Roof, the white man who shot dead nine black people in a church last week.
Earl P Holt III, the president of the Council of Conservative Citizens, has given $65,000 to Republican campaign funds in recent years, the Guardian reported Sunday.
Since 2012, he has contributed $8,500 to presidential candidate Ted Cruz, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Holt has also given $1,750 to the political action committee of presidential contender Rand Paul. No response was received from Paul’s campaign.
Holt's name cited by the author of a manifesto-style text that was posted on a website registered in Roof’s name along with photographs of the gunman.
The website, called "The Last Rhodesian," emerged on Saturday in which the 21-year-old vehemently denounces African-Americans and appears in photographs with guns and burning the US flag.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the website. The agency said it was "taking steps to verify the authenticity" of the website.
In a statement posted online in his name, Holt said he was not surprised to learn that Roof had found out about “black-on-white violent crime” from his group because, he said, it was one of the few that had the courage to disclose “the seemingly endless incidents involving black-on-white murder.”
Holt, however, claimed that his group does not advocate violence and should not be held responsible for the shootings.
On Wednesday night, Roof opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, leaving nine African-American worshipers dead.
Rick Tyler, a spokesman for Cruz told the Guardian in an email that “Upon review, we discovered that Mr. Holt did make a contribution. We will be immediately refunding the donation.”
The 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum had also received donations from him.
Matthew Beynon, a spokesman for Santorum, also said, “Senator Santorum does not condone or respect racist or hateful comments of any kind. Period. The views the Senator campaigns on are his own and he is focused on uniting America, not dividing her.”
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