Watch: Ralph Yarl shooter's grandson recalls him saying 'weird racist' things

The grandson of Andrew Lester, the man who shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl after he rang Lester's doorbell, told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday that he had regularly heard his grandfather make racist comments.

During an appearance on CNN, host Don Lemon asked Klint Ludwig point-blank if he believed his own grandfather's racism played a role in his decision to open fire on a Black teenager who rang his doorbell.

Ludwig said his grandfather had "racist tendencies" and would say "weird, racist" things while also espousing conspiracy theories.

"I feel like a lot of people of that generation are caught up in this a 24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia perpetuated by some other news stations," he said. "He was fully into that, he'd watch Fox News all day, every day, blaring in his living room. And I think that stuff really kind of reinforces this negative view of minority groups and... it doesn't necessarily lead people to be racist, but it reinforces and galvanizes racist people and their beliefs."

Ludwig went on to elaborate that Lester believed in election-denying conspiracy theories while also believing some "very weird" things about Dr. Anthony Fauci.

"I would push back on some of this stuff and he couldn't handle being pushed back on," he said. "At a certain point, we kind of lost touch and I think that it was more his choice than mine."

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