The website linked to Dylann Roof surfaced online today and contained photos. He was seen holding a Confederate flag, flown by pro-slavery secessionist southern states during the American Civil War and now considered a divisive symbol by civil rights leaders and others.
The hate-filled 2,500-word essay talks about white supremacy and concludes by saying the author alone will need to take action.
It's unclear if Roof wrote it but the rants are in line with what he has told friends and what he said before allegedly opening fire inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church Wednesday night.
Harold Washington, 75, was with the group and saw the room the victims were shot in.
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"They did a good job cleaning it up, there were a few bullet holes around but what they did, they cut them out so you don't see the actual holes," he said.
He said he expected an emotional service Sunday, and a large turnout.
"We're gonna have people come by that we've never seen before and will probably never see again, and that's OK," he said. "It's a church of the Lord, you don't turn nobody down."
A federal law enforcement official close to the investigation said the FBI is aware of the website linked to Roof and is reviewing it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the case.
Internet registry records show that the website was created on February 9 via a Russian registry service with the owner's personal details hidden. A man who answered the phone at the Moscow-based company would not say who the site's owner was.