Temple plot arrest sparks call for social media crackdown

COOK COUNTY BUILDING (WBBM Newsradio) -- A Northwest suburban Congressman whose family narrowly avoided what police have called a planned mass shooting at their house of worship grew emotional as he called on the federal government to shut down so-called hate speech online.

Police in Palatine say the 19-year-old suspect, who's allegedly described himself as a white supremacist, had planned to open fire on a Hindu temple in Aurora on October 11, but his automatic weapon jammed, and a coworker tipped off police before he could return.

"I don't know how the suspect's weapon jammed," Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8th District) said Friday morning while surrounded by elected and other leaders for a unity event at the Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St.

"I don't know how my family and others escaped," he continued, pausing to compose himself as his voice thickened with emotion. "I don't know how I happened to be there, but I believe one purpose was so I could be here, so that I could speak up about hate."

Rep. Krishnamoorthi said racist posts online toward South Asians have surged in recent years, and suggested the suspect had been radicalized by far-right commentators and others, quoting what police allege the suspect told a co-worker: "He could not wait to kill Indians!"

He said Congress needs to take action to change laws that grant social media companies immunity from liability when people post racist or other hate-related messages or images on their sites.

"Big Tech profits off this hate! Big Tech will not police itself. We must police Big Tech," said the Congressman, who's leaving office at the end of the year.

He also called on FBI director Kash Patel to investigate Sunday's alleged plot as a hate crime, and criticized the lack of public condemnation from the federal government: "Their silence speaks volumes."

WBBM Newsradio has asked the FBI's Chicago office for an interview about the investigation.