S.C. man accused of plotting Dylann Roof-style attack indicted

A federal grand jury indicted a Myrtle Beach-area man charged with buying a gun in an apparent plan to carry out an attack similar to that of convicted mass killer Dylann Roof.

The indictment for 29-year-old Benjamin Thomas Samuel McDowell, of Conway, was received by court officials Tuesday, according to records. He is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

McDowell, a convicted felon, purchased a .40-caliber Glock from an undercover FBI agent last month, according to a criminal complaint.

Federal investigators say McDowell, who was radicalized by white supremacy groups in prison, made repeated social media postings expressing anger toward Jewish people or praising Roof, the avowed white supremacist convicted in the execution-style slayings of nine African-American worshipers at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church in 2015. He told the undercover agent he wanted to carry out his attack “in the spirit of Dylann Roof.”

There’s been no word on any additional charges against McDowell.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 2:55 PM with the headline "S.C. man accused of plotting Dylann Roof-style attack indicted."