Andrew Lester may have presented himself as a frail, cane-clutching old man in court, but it didn't take long before people who knew him well were painting a different image in the press. The 84-year-old white Kansas City, Missouri resident has been accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black high school junior, who reportedly rang Lester's door after mistaking it for a house where he was to pick up his siblings. While some family members have loyally claimed Lester is a kind person, others are less generous. His grandson, Klint Ludwig, told the Kansas City Star that Lester is not just "staunchly right wing," but addicted to "a 24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia," including "election-denying conspiracy stuff and COVID conspiracies." Lester's ex-wife told the New York Times, "I was always scared of him," because he was would go into rage fits and smash her things.
Ludwig is getting trashed by the right on social media, but for many who have helplessly watched older relatives fall down this rabbit hole of right-wing paranoia, his story felt all too familiar.
