A foiled alleged mass shooting plot targeting a Hindu temple outside Chicago has ended in the arrest of a 19-year-old Illinois man with documented white supremacist extremist beliefs, law enforcement officials confirmed this week.
Alexandros Paporakis, a resident of Palatine, Illinois, made his first court appearance on Wednesday following the weekend arrest, according to CBS News, the BBC’s partner outlet in the United States. He faces two separate criminal charges: one felony count of terrorist threat, and a weapons charge for unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle measuring less than 16 inches in length.
The investigation was triggered by two of Paporakis’ co-workers at the local Taco Bell where he was employed, who contacted Palatine police on Sunday to report alarming statements and messages the suspect had shared. Prosecutors told the court that Paporakis reached out to one co-worker by phone to complain that his weapon had jammed, then followed up the call with digital messages that included images of an AR-style rifle, photos that showed the gun failing to fire when the trigger was pulled, and a picture of himself wearing a tactical vest. Prior to that, Paporakis had already made his extremist views known at work, prosecutors added: he openly identified as a white supremacist while on the job, and repeatedly made derogatory, hateful remarks about people from non-white racial backgrounds.
Over the weekend before the arrest, prosecutors allege Paporakis told another co-worker that he was planning an attack at a Hindu temple located in Aurora, a Chicago suburb, and stated that the upcoming Sunday would be “a special day” — a clear reference to the planned attack.
When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Paporakis’ Palatine home, they uncovered a large cache of weapons and tactical equipment: the short-barreled rifle in question, multiple loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition for the rifle, and full body armor, Palatine Police Chief William Nord confirmed. Working alongside FBI agents, officers also seized and analyzed Paporakis’ digital devices and communication records. On those devices, they found a written manifesto in which Paporakis openly affirmed his white supremacist identity, laid out his violent hatred for non-white people, and laid out detailed plans to carry out a mass shooting, Nord said.
While law enforcement has confirmed the alleged plot referenced a local Hindu temple, officials noted that a specific exact target location has not yet been definitively confirmed, and the investigation remains active as of Wednesday.
Local elected officials have condemned the alleged plot, stressing the need for collective action against violent racial extremism. “Every American deserves to live and worship without fear, and we must stand together against hatred in all its forms,” said Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in a public Facebook statement, adding that he was horrified by the planned attack.