Man charged in Ralph Yarl shooting believed in QAnon, had ‘racist tendencies’: grandson

A grandson of Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old white man charged with shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl, said his grandfather is a believer in the QAnon conspiracy in addition to other “weird, random, racist things.”

Yarl, a 16-year-old honor roll student, was shot twice at point blank range the night of April 13, after he approached Lester’s front door because he had confused the address with the home where he was supposed to pick up his younger brothers. Lester was charged on Monday with armed criminal action and first-degree assault and has since pleaded not guilty.

Clay County attorney Zachary Thompson has said “there was a racial component” involved while attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing Yarl, has called for hate crime charges.

During Lester’s brief court appearance on Wednesday, Thompson noted first-degree assault is a higher-level crime, allowing a sentence of up to life in prison, which is more than a hate-crime charge would carry.

“I believe he holds racist tendencies and beliefs,” Lester’s grandson, Klint Ludwig, told CNN, adding that he was “disgusted” over the shooting.

“Myself and my family stand with Ralph Yarl in seeking justice,” he added. “This is a horrible tragedy and it never should have happened.”

Lester also spent “all day, every day” watching conservative television programs that further fueled some of his “crazy” beliefs, Ludwig said.

While his grandfather, also an election doubter, often made anti-Black, anti-gay, and anti-immigrant remarks, it was his belief in right-wing conspiracies that ultimately prompted their estrangement.

Ludwig told the New York Times the last time he saw Lester was during a family gathering, during which he started spouting a “ridiculous” conspiracy theory involving Anthony Fauci.

Yarl, who was shot first in the head and the arm, has been released from the hospital and continues to recover at home.