No evidence Charleston shooter Dylann Roof raped, beaten in prison

A fake news item claims Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was sexually and physically assaulted by a prison inmate.

The article — with the headline "Dylann Roof, killer of 14 Charleston church members raped and beaten by inmate" — quotes the Charleston County sheriff describing the assault in detail.

"According to Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon, the assault happened shortly before 8 a.m. as Roof was being escorted to the showers in Housing Unit 1B," the article states.

But among the many problems with this item: Roof is no longer housed in Charleston.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows that Roof is imprisoned in a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. He was transferred there in April 2017 following his federal death sentence, according to news reports.

Other issues abound in this fake item. The fake post purports to link a to a video — but no such video exists on the site. The headline also misstates the number of victims. (Roof killed nine parishioners, not 14.)

A similar fake news item was debunked by our friends at Snopes in 2016. Snopes reported that the phony conspiracy theory about Roof being raped in prison originated in July 2015 on the fake news website NYMeta, and has continued in various forms and outlets since then.

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stated on October 26, 2024 in social media posts

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There are a couple possible reasons why this hoax persists.

For starters, the idea of retribution against Roof may appeal to readers’ desire for justice for one of the deadliest hate crimes in U.S. history.

The story’s staying power may also have something to do with the fact it shares some similarities to an actual news story, albeit one with important differences.

In August 2016, Roof was reportedly beaten while being held at the Charleston County jail. The assault "left Roof with minor bruises," but there is no evidence that the mass shooter was the victim of sexual assault.

The fake news item also claims Roof was assaulted while being escorted to the shower unit. However, the assault against him in August 2016 occurred after an unlocked cell door allowed an inmate to approach Roof.

Bloggers said Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was raped and beaten in prison.

There are a number of factual errors with this story. Roof has not been housed in Charleston — where the purported assault happened — since April 2017. The item also misstates the number of parishoners Roof killed.

Despite being previously debunked, this hoax continues to persist.

We rate this Pants on Fire.