J. Reuben Long Detention Center via NBC News
The FBI has arrested a man who allegedly intended to commit an attack “in the spirit of Dylann Roof.” Benjamin Thomas Samuel McDowell, 29, of Florida, reportedly purchased a gun from an undercover FBI agent with whom he had been consulting in advance of the planned attack. McDowell was arrested on Wednesday evening. He had established connections with a white supremacy group while in prison in South Carolina, and he had tattoos supporting the group. McDowell, according to documents, told the undercover agent that “I got the heart to do that s***, but I don’t have to the good training.” Though his plan was unclear, McDowell reportedly told the agent he was looking for a way to conduct an attack on non-whites without getting caught. He posted on Facebook at one point linking to the Temple Emanu-El Conservative Synagogue in Myrtle Beach. The Temple is in communication with the FBI.