On August 27, 23-year-old Robin Westman opened fire inside the church at Annunciation Catholic School with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, killing two children, ages 8 and 10, and wounding 17 others before dying by suicide at the scene.
The massacre, now under investigation as an act of domestic terrorism and a potential hate crime, has shaken the Minneapolis community and reignited concerns about the rise of far-right violence in the United States.
Authorities have since uncovered a manifesto and online videos revealing that Westman’s worldview was deeply shaped by anti-Muslim hate and admiration for far-right terrorists. While much of the media focus has been on explicit inflammatory statements such as “Kill Trump”, the most frequent references were primarily to anti-Muslim terrorists such as Anders Breivik (Norway, 2011) and Brenton Tarrant (New Zealand, 2019). Both are mass murderers infamous for targeting Muslims.
Our Center for Security, Technology, and Policy (CSTP) conducted the following analysis of video and digital content*:
- 156 total references were made in the video via audio, images, and inscription on weapons to terrorists, mass shooters, and school shooters alongside nihilistic messages and pop culture memes.
- Implicit references to Breivik and Tarrant can be seen in the references made on each of the weapons. For example, the number “-51” appears 4 times across guns and clips, a reference to the number of victims from the Christchurch shootings. The total reference to anti-Muslim shooters is 13 out of 156 (or 8%) which comprises the highest category made.
- Far-right and white supremacist slogans, while individually sparse, collectively formed a strong ideological backbone spanning multiple categories of hate: anti-Muslim, anti-feminist, anti-Semitic, anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-India.
- 10 Russian-language references and 10 unique, undeciphered symbols and codes, suggest exposure to international extremist propaganda.
In light of these findings, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) urgently calls for:
- Heightened Security at Places of Worship: Mosques, churches, and synagogues should begin taking immediate precautions such as increasing security to protect their congregations from potential copycat attacks.
- Restoration of Nonprofit Security Grants: The administration should immediately reinstate and release the cancelled Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) funds, particularly for Muslim places of worship, given the shooter’s documented obsession with anti-Muslim terrorists such as Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant attacks in Norway and New Zealand. In August 2025, DHS updated the NSGP Terms, removing the clause requiring grantees to certify they do not boycott Israeli companies after backlash from American Muslim civil society. However, a broader prohibition on “discriminatory prohibited boycotts” remains, raising concerns that nonprofits could face conflicts between receiving funding for security and their values. Restoring clear access to NSGP funding is essential for places of worship to protect their communities from extremist threats.
- Enhanced Monitoring of Far-Right and White Supremacist Networks: Federal and state law enforcement must intensify their surveillance and ensure accurate monitoring of white supremacist and far-right extremist groups, who continue to promote and inspire violence across the country.
*Below, we have compiled an extensive collection of screenshots from these online videos to systematically analyze references to Islam, Muslims, and anti-Muslim mass murderers and terrorists:
| Clip #4 |
| -51: Likely referring to number of people killed by Brenton Tarrant at the Christchurch Mosque Shooting Breivik: Anders Breivik, Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist and mass shooter. |
| Handgun #1 |
| -51: Likely referring to the number of people killed by Brenton Tarrant at the Christchurch Mosque Shooting. |
| Shotgun #1 |
| -51: Likely referring to the number of people killed by Brenton Tarrant at the Christchurch Mosque Shooting. |
| Assault Rifle #1 |
|
“Thank God for Breivik” “Hello Brother”: Likely said by a Mosque attendee welcoming Brenton Tarrant at the Christchurch Shooting (Al Jazeera). -51: Likely referring to the number of people killed by Brenton Tarrant at the Christchurch Mosque Shooting. <Heart> Breivik |
|
|
“Brenton 4 Ever”: Praising Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch shooter. “Remove Kebab”: Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch Shooter, played a Serbian nationalist song while livestreaming his attack. (Global Network on Extremism & Technology) | |
| Board with Smoke Bomb |
| “Hail Breivik Hail Brenton” |
About MPAC
Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is a national public affairs nonprofit working to promote and strengthen American pluralism by increasing understanding and improving policies that impact American Muslims. Over the past 30 years, MPAC has built a reputation of being a dynamic and trusted American Muslim voice for policymakers, opinion shapers, and community organizers across the country.
Media Contact
Policy Communications Coordinator, Misaal Irfan at 623-432-2364 or misaal@mpac.org
Director of Communications, Blake Wood at 843-696-8161 or blake@mpac.org