On June 17, Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people during a Bible study class at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The 21-year-old’s detailed manifesto reportedly explains his hatred toward African Americans and other races. He even revealed why he chose the historical black church for the hate crime he committed.
Following his June 18 arrest, a bond hearing at a Centralized Bond Hearing Court was scheduled for Friday, June 19. Charleston County Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. set Roof’s bail at $1 million for a single weapons charge, and now it has been reported that hate groups have raised more than $4 million for his bail and other legal costs. But, don’t get angry yet because there’s much more to the report. Many readers will be quite relieved to know that the report about Roof’s bail is satirical.
On Thursday, June 25, the report about Dylann Roof’s alleged supporters was published by the satirical news site NewsWatch33 . The report claims Roof’s supporters, who are in agreement with his views of racism, segregation, and the Confederacy, have come together in the wake of the hate crime and the nationwide condemnation of the controversial Confederate flag.
The publication even includes a screenshot of the donation page, which displays the total amount supporters have raised thus far — a whopping $4,287,321.66. There are certain details about the account that are blurred, but the image appears to be a screenshot of a PayPal account.
A similar claim was reported by another satirical site called Not Allowed To , which stated that hate groups had raised over $1 million for Roof’s bail. A quote from an alleged member, Imperil Knight Jethro Johnson of the Ku Klux Klan, was also included as an explanation for the donations.
“We just want a fair trial for our brother, he was set up and we plan to prove that in a court of law, we have his bail money ready and will provide protection until his trial begins.”
Although some readers immediately noticed a number of questionable details about the reports, others are outraged due to images and multimedia included that made the reports more believable. Almost immediately after the NewsWatch33 report was published, the tweets came pouring in.
Here are some of the tweets posted by disgusted social media users.
I just don’t understand? https://t.co/luIY6qIBYv
— Dr. Charles Jenkins (@CharlesJenkins7) June 26, 2015
Many social media users are highly concerned about the outrageous hoax stories, but neither are factual. However, both have gone viral with more than 100,000 shares collectively. Dylann Roof’s bail was set at $1 million for the weapons charge, but he does not have a bail set for the murder charges and remains in custody at the Charleston County Jail.
[Photo by Grace Beahm-Pool/Getty Images]