105 Lawmakers Urge FBI Probe of Illinois Temple Attack

A bipartisan group of 105 members of Congress urged FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate an alleged attempted mass shooting at the Sri Venkateswara Swami temple in Aurora, Illinois, as a potential federal hate crime. Prosecutors say 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis tried to shoot someone outside the temple, but his weapon malfunctioned; he was arrested after allegedly communicating plans to return, and investigators reportedly recovered ammunition, body armor and a white supremacist manifesto. The lawmakers asked whether investigators are examining racial, ethnic and religious bias, coordinating with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and assessing threats against Indian American, Hindu American, Sikh and other South Asian communities. They also criticized administration messaging they said risked reinforcing hostility, and cited a report documenting more than 542,000 anti-South Asian posts on X from January 2025 through June 2026.