GOP state lawmaker refuses to resign after report that he participated in armed standoff

A state GOP lawmaker is refusing to step down after an inquiry found that he planned and participated in an armed standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Washington state Rep. Matt Shea (R) said he would not resign, arguing that like President Trump he is a victim of a “sham investigation,” according to local outlet KREM 2.

“Like we are seeing with our President this is a sham investigation meant to silence those of us who stand up against attempts to disarm and destroy our great country,” Shea wrote on Facebook. “I will not back down, I will not give in, I will not resign.”

An investigation conducted for the state House of Representatives found that Shea helped plan “an act of domestic terrorism against the United States.”

The 108-page report detailed Shea’s involvement with the militant takeover that was performed by the Patriot Movement, a rural-based conservative organization made up of militia members and so-called sovereign citizens.

The findings of the report prompted Washington House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox (R) to throw Shea out of the GOP caucus and call for his resignation.

Wilcox added that Shea, a six-term lawmaker, will no longer be allowed at caucus meetings and will need to find a new office.

However, Shea can be expelled from the House only by a two-thirds vote, which would need support from both the Democratic majority and some Republicans.

In an interview with Infowars earlier in the month, Shea called the state’s investigation a “Marxist smear campaign” and “political warfare according to a Maoist insurgency model.”

He has previously advocated for “war” against enemies of Christianity and replacing the Democratic system of government with a theocracy.