Man Who Shot Ralph Yarl Was Fueled By Racism and ‘Watching Fox News All Day’, Grandson Tells Don Lemon

The grandson of the man who shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl described his grandfather as a conspiracy theorist and avid consumer of right-wing media who was acting upon racism in an interview with CNN Thursday morning.

84-year-old Kansas City homeowner Andrew Lester shot the African-American teenager after he came to Lester’s house because he had the wrong address. Lester faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, though the Yarl family attorney and others are demanding he also is charged with committing a hate crime.

The case has prompted renewed discussions about self-defense, guns, and racism in America, so Don Lemon spoke about it on Thursday with Lester’s grandson, Klint Ludwig. Ludwig called the shooting “a horrible tragedy that never should have happened,” so Lemon asked him why he is speaking out against his grandfather.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “In this country, it happens over and over again where people get away with killing unarmed innocent black people, and I would have had the same energy for any other case like I’ve had over and over again in this country.”

Asked if he believes his grandfather is racist, Ludwig answered, “I believe he holds racist tendencies and beliefs.” He went on to say “He’s just a stock American Christian male. It’s an older, you know, that’s just how they are. It’s the conspiracies and weird, random, racist things they say, and it doesn’t make sense, but they’re just scared.”

Lemon asked Ludwig to elaborate further, prompting Ludwig to note Lester was an avid viewer of Fox News.

I feel like a lot of people of that generation are caught up in this 24 hour news cycle of fear and paranoia perpetuated by some other news stations. And he was fully into that, sitting and watching Fox News all day, every day blaring in his living room. And I think that stuff really kind of reinforces this negative view of minority groups and leads people to be all — that doesn’t necessarily lead people to be racist, but it reinforces and galvanizes racist people. And their beliefs.

Klint continued to say that his grandfather bought into conspiracy theories like QAnon, and their relationship became strained over the years. He also continued to insist that his grandfather would make racist comments in front of him that he tried to push back upon.

Ludwig previously accused his grandfather of racism in an interview with The Kansas City Star, which spoke to his older brother, who did not believe race was a factor behind the shooting. Ludwig argued that his brother doesn’t see their grandfather for who he is, and he continued arguing Lester had been “radicalized” by political ideologues.

Watch above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!