DALLAS – A Missouri group cited in an online manifesto purportedly written by the Charleston church shooting suspect was founded 30 years ago. A civil rights organization calls it a "crudely white supremacist group" that is the "modern reincarnation" of efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to resist school desegregation in the South.
The Council of Conservative Citizens named Earl Holt III, of Longview, Texas, as its president earlier this year following the death of his predecessor. Holt has contributed more than $60,000 to Republicans since 2010, including several White House hopefuls.
Church shooting suspect Dylann Roof said in the purported manifesto that he learned about "brutal black on white murders" from the group's website.
The group's spokesman said Monday that Roof was never a member and was unknown to top officers.
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