105 US lawmakers ask FBI to probe foiled Aurora Balaji temple shooting as a hate crime
A bipartisan group of 105 members of Congress, led by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was at the temple with his family that day, wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel.
- IANS
A bipartisan group of 105 members of Congress, led by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was at the temple with his family that day, wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel. They asked that the 11 October attempted shooting at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, Illinois, be investigated as a federal hate crime covering both racial and religious bias.
Prosecutors allege that the 19-year-old suspect, Alexandros Paporakis, fled after his rifle malfunctioned and had written a white-supremacist manifesto. These allegations have not been tested in court.
Key data
105 signatories. Answers to 5 questions sought by 29 Oct 2026. A cited study counted over 542,000 anti-South Asian hate posts on X between January 2025 and June 2026, with monthly volume up about 240%.
Why it matters
This is the largest congressional push so far to treat anti-Hindu violence in the US as a federal hate crime, and it could shape how temples receive FBI threat-sharing and protection.
GK: did you know?
The US Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 extended federal hate-crime law to crimes motivated by actual or perceived religion, race and other protected traits.
