An alleged white supremacist, whose writings were cited confessed South Carolina shooter Dylann Roof, has donated thousands of dollars to a handful of Republicans running for president.
Earl Holt, who is president Council of Conservative Citizens, gave to Republican candidates Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum in previous elections.
The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies the Council of Concerned Citizens as a hate group. The group, on its website, formally denounced the killings in Charleston last week, but Holt wrote in a post that Roof and others had “legitimate grievances” based on alleged black-on-white violence.
The donations were first reported by The Guardian on Sunday. Holt gave $1,750 to Paul and $8,500 to Cruz’s campaign and super PAC.
A Paul spokesman said Monday that the Holt donations would be given instead to to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund to assist families of the victims. A Cruz spokesman said Monday that the donations would be returned to Holt immediately.
A request for comment was emailed to the Santorum campaign Monday morning.