Dylann Roof, 21, entering a courthouse in Shelby, North Carolina. Reuters/Jason Miczek In the days since a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a historic black church in South Carolina, more evidence regarding the lead suspect's ideology has emerged.

The basest of suspect Dylann Roof's convictions, by his own acknowledgment, are rooted in a deep hatred of black people, and now a national organization has stepped up to defend his resentment.

Mother Jones writer Allie Gross noted Sunday night that the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) defended what it called the "legitimate grievances" that fueled Roof's rage.

The gunman who shot and killed nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, identified by the police as Roof, 21, also unleashed a verbal assault against black people, who he suggested were ushering in the downfall of American society.

The gunman also referred to black-on-white crime, alleging "you rape our women," as he shot the church members who had welcomed him into their sanctuary Wednesday night.

That statement is rooted in a belief held within some circles that the media ignores black-on-white crime.

A CCC representative issued a statement Sunday night condemning the killings — but in the same sentence, stating "they do not detract ... from the legitimacy of some of the positions he has expressed."

Among the positions Roof shared on behalf of white supremacists he so closely identified with:

black people "rape our women"

black people are "taking over the country"

black people are "the real racists"

[black people] have to go

While the CCC does not overtly define itself as a white supremacist organization, its Statement of Principles establishes that it opposes "all efforts to mix the races of mankind, promote non-white races over the European-American people, and force the integration of the races."

On Sunday, The Guardian reported that the organization's leader, Earl Holt III, has "given $65,000 to Republican campaign funds in recent years," including donations to a PAC representing Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and donations to Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — all of whom are seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

The Guardian reports Cruz's presidential campaign reps have since promised to return the money.