105 US Lawmakers Ask FBI to Examine Hindu Temple Shooting Plot as Hate Crime

A group of 105 US lawmakers led by Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation to examine an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, as a potential federal hate crime.

In a letter dated October 20 to FBI Director Kash Patel, the lawmakers cited concerns over anti-Indian, anti-Hindu and broader anti-South Asian hostility. They asked the Bureau to give explicit attention to possible hate-crime violations and to provide details of its investigation into the alleged plot at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Hindu temple. They also called for greater scrutiny of credible online threats against Indian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikhs and other South Asian communities.

Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested on October 11. According to prosecutors, he drove to the temple intending to carry out a shooting but fled after his rifle allegedly failed to fire. Local police departments and the FBI’s Chicago field office said he was arrested that day and later charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of weapons.

Prosecutors allege that Paporakis, a resident of Palatine, Illinois, wrote an eight-page manifesto expressing white supremacist views and describing violence against people of Indian descent at a Hindu house of worship. Investigators reportedly recovered a rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, body armour and white supremacist imagery. He has not been convicted.

Krishnamoorthi and his family were worshipping at the temple when the alleged attempted attack occurred on October 11, according to a statement from the congressman’s office.

“The alleged combination of targeted racial hatred, a religious setting, and preparations for mass violence demands a comprehensive federal response,” the lawmakers wrote. They urged the FBI to clarify whether the case is being examined for both racial or ethnic bias and religious bias.

The letter was signed by members of Congress from across the country. Signatories included the entire Illinois House Democratic delegation, every Indian American member of Congress, and Senators Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth, Andy Kim and Chris Van Hollen. The lawmakers acknowledged the FBI’s reported assistance to local investigators and asked whether the Bureau is coordinating with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the appropriate US Attorney’s Office, to the extent consistent with the ongoing investigation.

The letter also raised concerns about the scale of online hostility targeting South Asian Americans and whether digital platforms are being used to spread threats, identify potential victims or facilitate violence.

Citing a September 2026 report by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, the lawmakers said more than 542,000 anti-South Asian hateful posts appeared on X between January 2025 and June 2026. The monthly volume reportedly rose from 12,904 posts in January 2024 to 43,843 in June 2026, an increase of approximately 240 per cent.

A Carnegie Endowment for International Peace survey, also cited in the letter, found that 48 per cent of Indian American respondents had encountered racist posts targeting Indians or Indian Americans very or somewhat often since the start of 2025. One in four respondents reported having been called a slur.

The case has renewed attention to security at religious institutions and to threats against South Asian communities. The letter asks the FBI to provide details of its investigation and to scrutinise credible online threats.