Over 100 US lawmakers urge FBI to probe foiled Hindu temple shooting as hate crime

More than 100 members of the US Congress have called on the FBI to investigate an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Illinois as a ‘potential federal hate crime’. In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, the lawmakers said 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis drove to the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) temple in Aurora on 11 October intending to open fire, but fled after his rifle malfunctioned. He was arrested the same day and charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawful weapons possession.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who led the letter and whose family was at the temple that day, was joined by 104 other lawmakers, including 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 alleged combination of targeted racial hatred, a religious setting, and preparations for mass violence demands a comprehensive federal response,” the letter states. “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 lawmakers requested a written response by 29 October on whether the investigation is treating the case as a federal hate crime examining both racial or ethnic and religious bias, and whether it is coordinating with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. They also asked about any examination of online activity, coordination with others, and the FBI’s broader capacity to monitor threats against Indian Americans, Hindu Americans and other South Asian communities. The letter cites a documented rise in online hostility. A September report by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate identified more than 542,000 anti-South Asian posts on X between January 2025 and June 2026, with monthly volume rising roughly 240% from January 2024 levels.

A Carnegie Endowment survey found that 48% of Indian American respondents had encountered racist posts targeting their community very or somewhat often since the start of 2025, and one in four had been called a slur. The lawmakers also criticised recent Trump administration messaging. They pointed to a Department of Homeland Security graphic depicting a Sikh man with the caption “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr Singh,” later removed after criticism, and a Department of Education post declaring “Make College Football Great Again” after Texas Republican politician Bo French complaint about South Asians at a University of Texas football game.

“We believe such messaging risks lending governmental legitimacy to racial and religious stereotyping,” the letter says. “Federal agencies should make clear that debates over immigration or public safety never justify collective suspicion of Indian, Sikh, Hindu, or other South Asian communities.” The letter pointed, "no one should fear being targeted because of their ancestry, appearance, or faith, and no congregation should have to wonder whether gathering for worship will make its members targets of mass violence. We urge the FBI to investigate the evidence fully, pursue all applicable offenses, and provide affected communities with a clear account of the steps being taken to protect them.”