Three top Republican presidential hopefuls scrambled to distance themselves from the far right-wing group the Council of Conservative Citizens after it was revealed that the group's leader had donated money to their campaigns. The group had been cited in mass killer Dylann Roof's alleged manifesto.

The senators that have distanced themselves include Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum. The Guardian first reported on the donations, some of which predate their current presidential campaign.

Through Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, the Guardian discovered that the group's president, Earl P. Holt III, donated to Sen. Cruz (R-Texas) around $8,500 since 2012. He also donated $1,500 to RandPAC, the political action committee for Sen. Paul. Documents also show Holt donated $1,500 to Santorum's failed 2012 presidential bid.

Spokesperson for both Sen. Paul and Sen. Cruz told the press they would be returning the money and expressed their disgust at Roof's actions.

"RandPAC is donating the funds to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund to assist the victims' families," said Doug Stafford, Sen. Paul's chief strategist. Sen. Cruz also followed in these steps.

"Senator Cruz believes that there is no place for racism in society," said Sen. Cruz's campaign spokesperson Catherine Frazier in an email. "Upon learning about Mr. Holt's background and his contributions to the campaign, he immediately instructed that all of those donations be returned."

Santorum's campaign has also disavowed Holt and his group, stating that Santorum "is focused on uniting America, not dividing her."

The candidates' decisions to return Holt's donations come after Roof revealed in his alleged online manifesto that he had read about "brutal black-on-white murders" through the Council of Conservative Citizens. Roof is accused of killing nine people at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Holt also commented on the shooting, releasing a statement in which he said he did not condone violence, but did not refute Roof's ideology.

"The CofCC is one of perhaps three websites in the world that accurately and honestly report black-on-white violent crime, and in particular, the seemingly endless incidents involving black-on-white murder," Holt wrote. "The CofCC website exists because media either "spike" such stories, or intentionally obscure the race of black offenders. Indeed, at its national convention some years ago, the Society of Professional Journalists adopted this tactic as a formal policy."

Holt went on to absolve CofCC of any blame, "because [Roof] gleaned accurate information from our website." He went on to compare the accusation to blaming an ammunition company for the murders committed by a black man against white people in 1993.

The Guardian reported Holt could have an extensive online footprint. A commenter using his full name for the last decade has been posting vitriolic and offensive comments on various news articles.

A spokesperson for Holt, Jared Taylor, told the Guardian anything signed "Earl P Holt III," "he probably made it."

Holt has also donated to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and former Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.).