South Carolina man Benjamin Thomas Samuel McDowell was arrested Wednesday for allegedly planning an attack "in the spirit of Dylann Roof" after purchasing a gun and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent. Roof killed nine people in a black church in 2015.
McDowell, 29, had ties to white supremacist groups and told the federal agent he wanted to massacre nonwhite people, WMBF News reported. In December, he had posted a link to a synagogue in Myrtle Beach, saying, “I love love to act what u think,” the news station noted.
McDowell also posted on Facebook that he wanted an “iron,” meaning a gun, WMBF said. A week later, he met with the agent and told him, “I seen what Dylann Roof did and in my heart I reckon I got a little bit of hatred and ... I want to do that s—,“ the complaint said.
There was no indication McDowell, who said he wanted to spray paint on the building “in the spirit of Dylann Roof” after the attack, had planned a specific time or location.
McDowell was already a felon on unrelated charges and had spent time in jail, NBC News reported.
McDowell was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition, which is a federal weapons charge. He will have a preliminary court appearance Tuesday, according to UPI.
Other charges could be pending related to the planned shooting.