Ballot Box

GOP state legislator who called for ‘war’ against enemies of Christianity wins reelection

Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who published a manifesto calling for “war” against enemies of Christianity, was reelected in Washington state. 

Shea, a six-term legislator, won with 58.3 percent of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger by a comfortable margin, according to local NBC affiliate KHQ 6.

{mosads}In a manifesto he published and distributed, titled “Biblical Basis for War,” Shea calls for the end of same-sex marriage, abortion and the death of all non-Christian males in America if religious law is not followed.

FBI representatives told KHQ 6 that they are reviewing the document.

“The document Mr. Shea wrote is not a Sunday school project or an academic study,” Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told the Washington Spokesman-Review. “It is a ‘how to’ manual consistent with the ideology and operating philosophy of the Christian Identity/Aryan Nations movement and the Redoubt movement of the 1990s.”

Shea defended the document in a Facebook Live video last month, calling it part of a “sermon” that was taken out of context as a call to violence.

Shea did not deny the presence of the manifesto or shy away from criticism he received for it.

“This document, in and of itself, was not a secret. I’ve actually talked about portions of this document publicly,” he said.

Previously, while defending gun rights and free speech at a rally in Spokane, Shea criticized the press, calling reporters “those dirty, godless, hateful people.”