Washington, Oct 29 — Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has given a personal account of the alleged plot to attack a Hindu temple near Chicago where his parents were praying, and pressed FBI Director Kash Patel to treat it as a potential federal hate crime, as a deadline set by 105 lawmakers for the bureau’s reply arrived.
“On Oct. 11, the first day of Navaratri, my family and I were worshipping at our Hindu temple in Aurora,” Krishnamoorthi wrote in an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune. “My 80-year-old mother and 87-year-old father were singing Hindu prayers to celebrate one of the most important holidays of our faith.”
“Little did we know a 19-year-old white supremacist was waiting outside with an AR-style rifle and roughly 300 rounds of ammunition, according to police,” he wrote.
Citing prosecutors, he said the suspect tried to fire at a passerby but his rifle jammed. The suspect later told a coworker he planned to return, and the coworker alerted police. Officers from the Palatine and Mount Prospect police departments arrested him before he could go back.
“I cannot explain why the rifle jammed, but I consider it nothing short of a miracle,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “That malfunction saved countless lives, including those of my own family.”
According to court documents cited in the op-ed, the suspect’s manifesto described Indian, Jewish and Black people as “subhumans”. He called himself a “sociopathic white supremacist neo-Nazi filled with hatred.”
Krishnamoorthi said the “recent surge in hostility aimed at Indian Americans is staggering”. He cited a study released in September that found monthly posts of anti-South Asian hate on X rose 240 per cent between January 2024 and June 2026, and Stop AAPI Hate’s finding that 48 per cent of South Asian adults experienced a race-based hate act in 2025. [VERIFY: name of the September study]
“Political candidates, media figures and even our own government have helped promote the idea that Indian Americans are foreigners who threaten this country,” he wrote.
He pointed to Republican candidate Bo French, who circulated photographs of South Asian students at the University of Texas celebrating a Longhorns football win, and to a podcast episode titled “The Indian Question” in which conservative activist Christopher Rufo and Jonathan Keeperman discussed whether Indian Americans could assimilate.
He also cited far-right activist Jake Lang, who told a Frisco, Texas, City Council meeting: “The Hindus and the Muslims are teaming up to take over Texas.” He named a Department of Homeland Security deportation graphic that showed a man labelled “Mr Singh” as a villain, and Palm Bay, Florida, City Councilman Chandler Langevin, who demanded the government “deport every Indian immediately.”
Krishnamoorthi said Langevin later called him a “foreign occupier” and wrote to him in September: “I won Rajesh. Take your curry and go home.”
He said Patel “must investigate the attempted attack in Aurora as a potential federal hate crime”, disaggregate hate-crime data to track anti-Indian hatred specifically, and devote more resources to combating domestic violent extremism “instead of fruitless election-fraud investigations.” He also urged Congress to close the loopholes that shield Big Tech from responsibility.
Krishnamoorthi earlier led 105 lawmakers, including every Indian American member of Congress, in asking Patel for a written response by October 29. No FBI reply has been made public.
The suspect faces only state charges, and no federal charges have been announced. His next court appearance is set for October 30. [VERIFY: hearing time and any new filings]
“No community can defeat bigotry on its own,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “We must stand against antisemitism, anti-Black racism and hatred directed at Muslims, Latinos and every other community, just as we ask our fellow Americans to stand with us.”