Follow-Up: 105 Lawmakers Urge FBI to Investigate Aurora Hindu Temple Attempted Shooting as a Federal Hate Crime

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi on October 20 led 105 members of Congress in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel urging the Bureau to investigate the October 11 attempted mass shooting at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, as a potential federal hate crime. Krishnamoorthi and his family were worshipping at the suburban Chicago temple when the attempted attack occurred.

The signers include the entire Illinois House Democratic delegation, every Indian American member of Congress, and Senators Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth, Andy Kim, and Chris Van Hollen. Chinese American Representatives Judy Chu, Grace Meng, and Ted Lieu also signed.

"The alleged combination of targeted racial hatred, a religious setting, and preparations for mass violence demands a comprehensive federal response," the lawmakers wrote. "We appreciate the FBI's reported assistance to local investigators and urge the Bureau to ensure that potential hate-crime violations receive explicit attention." The letter asks for written answers by October 29, to the extent consistent with the ongoing investigation, to five questions: whether the FBI is investigating the plot as a potential federal hate crime, examining both racial or ethnic bias and religious bias, and coordinating with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the appropriate U.S. Attorney's Office; whether investigators are examining the defendant's use of online platforms and any encouragement or assistance from others; what steps the Bureau is taking, consistent with the First Amendment, to identify credible online threats targeting Indian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikhs, and other South Asian communities; what mechanisms exist for sharing threat information with state and local law enforcement and potentially targeted houses of worship; and whether the FBI has adequate personnel and language expertise for such assessments.

According to prosecutors, 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis, a self-identified neo-Nazi, tried to shoot a man outside the temple on October 11, but his rifle jammed. He fled, later communicated plans to return, and was arrested the same day after a coworker alerted police. Prosecutors allege he authored an eight-page white supremacist manifesto describing violence against people of Indian descent at a Hindu house of worship. Investigators recovered a rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, body armor, and white supremacist imagery. Paporakis faces charges including making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of a firearm; the charges remain pending in court.

The letter cited a September 2026 report identifying more than 542,000 anti-South Asian hateful posts on X between January 2025 and June 2026, with monthly volume rising approximately 240 percent from January 2024 to June 2026, and a Carnegie Endowment survey finding that 48 percent of Indian American respondents had encountered racist posts targeting their community very or somewhat often since the start of 2025, while one in four reported being called a slur. The lawmakers also criticized Trump administration messaging they said risks legitimizing racial and religious stereotypes, citing a Department of Homeland Security post depicting a Sikh man and a Department of Education post about college football.

In a further development reported by India's IANS news agency on October 22, Krishnamoorthi posted on X on Wednesday evening local time that anti-Indian hate is exploding on social media and that big tech companies are profiting from it, saying Congress must hold them accountable. The post carried a 47-second video, did not name any specific company, and did not set out legislative steps.

Related: Illinois 19-Year-Old Arrested After Rifle Jams in Alleged Plot Against Aurora Hindu Temple

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 联邦众议员 Raja Krishnamoorthi 官方肖像（美国众议院官方照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons）。 / Official portrait of U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (U.S. House official photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).

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