Elliot Rodger, who was 22-years-old when he killed six students near the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2014, is the first ‘alt-right killer’ in recent years, according to a new report.
The report by the Southern Poverty Law Center counts 13 ‘alt-right’ killers that have left 43 dead and more than 60 injured since 2014.
According to the report, all 13 of the alleged perpetrators shared a common thread, they all participated in the ‘far-right ecosystem that defines the alt-right.’
Kelly Hoover, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, told the Sacramento Bee that while she she had not read the report she noted that investigators were aware of Rodger’s interest in Nazi figures.
Elliot Rodger was 22-years-old when he killed six students at University of California Santa Barbara in 2014. A new report out says he is the first ‘alt-right killer’ in recent years
‘That’s something that did come out as part of the investigation,’ Hoover said.
A 2015 report by the sheriff’s office revealed Rodger’s research of Nazis, including some of the main architects of the Holocaust. The report does not mention the alt-right.
‘Upon review of the suspect’s internet search history, investigators have learned that the suspect was very interested in some of the practices and techniques of the Third Reich,’ the sheriff’s report said.
‘The suspect’s in-depth research included information about Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler, two infamous members of the Nazi hierarchy,’ the sheriff’s report continued.
Dylann Roof (pictured) was 20-years-old when he killed nine members of a black bible study group in South Carolina. The report lists him among the alleged ‘alt-right killers’
William Edward Atchison, 21, who killed two students in a New Mexico high school on December 7 before taking his own life used the pseudonym of ‘Elliot Rodger.’
He also called Rodger the ‘supreme gentleman,’ a nickname Rodger gave himself that became an alt-right meme, according to the report.
The report also lists Dylann Roof among the ‘alt-right killers.’ Roof, a white supremacist, was convicted of fatally shooting nine black members of a Bible study class in South Carolina in 2015 when he was 20-years-old.
‘White supremacist groups, particularly those considered to be part of the alt-right, are becoming increasingly decentralized’ the report says.
Blood soaked towels are seen on the floor of IV Deli Mart, one of the locations of Rodger’s killing spree in Santa Barbara
The scene outside an apartment after Rodger’s killing spree. He fatally shot himself after killing six students
The report by the Southern Poverty Law Center lists 13 people on its list of what they call ‘alt-right killers’
The internet has made it easier than ever for those with like minded alt-right tendencies to connect, and disperse information on events.
What once were groups with leaders and membership lists are now social networks organized around propaganda websites, the report says.
‘The white nationalist movement’s sprawling online presence which metastasized, drawing in more — and at times less stable — adherents. Now, they have moved into the streets,’ according to the Law Center.