Featured Image Credit: Facebook/GoFundMe. Clay County Detention Center.
Topics: Racism, US News, Ralph Yarl
Rachel Lang
Topics: Racism, US News, Ralph Yarl
The man who gunned down Ralph Yarl has been eviscerated by his grandson in an interview, with Andrew Lester's relative dubbing him as a 'racist' old man.
Lester, 84, pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance after he was accused of shooting teenager Ralph Yarl at point-blank range in the head after the boy knocked on the door of the wrong house.
It was then that 84-year-old Andrew D. Lester shot the teenager once in the head and then in the arm.
In an interview with CNN, the 84-year-old's grandson Klint Ludwig revealed he was left 'disgusted' by his grandfather's actions.
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He revealed he stands with Yarl and the Black community and shares in their outrage over the unprovoked gun attack.
"This country, it happens over and over again where people get away with killing unarmed innocent Black people," Ludwig said.
He added said his grandfather’s 'racist tendencies' have been reinforced by the types of right-wing media he consumed.
"He was fully into that and watched 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," Ludwig said.
He added: "He’s just a stock, American Christian male, older, that’s just how they are [with] the conspiracies and weird random racist things that they say."
Lester's grandson added he had tried to push back on his grandfather’s racist ideas and conspiracy theories over the years.
Such theories included Donald Trump suffering from election theft, theories about infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci, and 'something about Black women getting abortions'.
He revealed that as a result of his grandfather's views, he and his older relative have fallen out of touch.
Lester has been charged with first-degree assault and is facing potential life imprisonment if convicted.
As the former air mechanic is due to have an arraignment on Wednesday, the local sheriff's office has set his bail at $200,000 with the condition that Lester is not allowed to own weapons of any kind or have any contact with Yarl.
Lester was released on Tuesday evening after posting 10 percent of his bail amount.
His other grandson Daniel Ludwig insisted that his grandfather felt he was in danger.
He he told The Daily Beast that the shooting should have never occurred.
"It's just crazy. I wish it didn't happen," Ludwig said, telling the outlet that the houses in the area ‘all look the same’ as he spoke about the incident.
He added: "I’d go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets."
A GoFundMe has been was set up by Yarl's family recently reached over $2.5 million in donations, which will go towards the boy's medical bills and therapy.