Zinke to donate funds from white supremacist

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana is among a group of Republicans who received donations from the leader of a white supremacist group cited by Charleston church murder suspect Dylann Roof.

Documents show the leader of the Council of Conservative Citizens Earl Holt made a $500 donation to Zinke's election campaign in October 2014.

Zinke spokeswoman Heather Swift said Monday Zinke will donate the money to a fund set up for the families of the victims of the Charleston shooting.

The Guardian newspaper first reported that Holt made $65,000 in donations to Republicans, including several to Republican presidential candidates.

A manifesto purportedly written by Roof says he learned about "brutal black on white murders" from the Council of Conservative Citizens website.

Zinke was elected in November as Montana's U.S. House representative.