France 24’s Access Asia program discussed anti-Indian sentiment in the United States on Oct. 30, as 105 lawmakers asked the FBI to assess possible bias in an alleged Illinois temple plot.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) executive director appeared on the program to discuss forces behind anti-Indian sentiment. It also asked whether rhetoric from the Trump White House was to blame.
Palatine Police Chief William Nord said police arrested Alexandros Paporakis, 19, on Oct. 11 after receiving a report about electronic messages that raised concern about a possible mass shooting. Nord said a car registered to Paporakis spent roughly 13 minutes in an Aurora Hindu temple’s parking area that day. Paporakis faces charges of making a terrorist threat and a weapons felony.
At an Oct. 15 briefing, the FBI described its role as supporting local investigators and made no federal hate-crime determination. An Oct. 20 letter signed by 105 U.S. lawmakers asked the bureau to assess whether the alleged plot involved racial, ethnic or religious bias. Paporakis was scheduled to appear in court Friday, Oct. 30.
