Matt Shea admitted publishing the manifesto and was unapologetic for what was said in it.
Matt Shea, a Republican politician in Washington, has admitted to publishing a manifesto calling for a “holy army.” In a document titled the Biblical Basis for War, Shea sets out some of his alarming positions.
Part 10 of the manifesto called for a “census of all able-bodied males (18-45)” although it says that it aims to “avoid bloodshed.” It calls on the men to “surrender on the terms of justice and righteousness.”
Under these terms, the manifesto says to stop all abortions, have no same-sex marriage, a ban on idolatry and occultism, no Communism and they must obey Biblical law. If the men comply, then must pay their share of work and taxes. But if they refuse, the consequences are frightening. The manifesto states: “If they do not yield – kill all males.”
The manifesto was published by the Spokesman-Review, after associates of Shea’s leaked it to them. Commenting on the manifesto, in an email sent to the Spokesman-Review, Ozzie Knezovich, Spokane’s County Sheriff said: “The document Mr. Shea wrote is not a Sunday school project or an academic study.
“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.”
Knezovich said that when he received the manifesto several weeks ago, he sent it straight to the FBI. Knezovich continued, saying that the manifesto had initially been written by far-right groups.
“The goal of these groups has always been to create a white homeland consisting of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington,” he said. “The ideas presented in the [biblical war] document are how these groups intend to seize control, by force, should there be a governmental collapse or civil war.”
via Flickr
In a Facebook Live video, Shea was unapologetic, saying: “First of all, it was a summary of a series of sermons on biblical war in the Old Testament as part of a larger discussion on the history of warfare.
“This document, in and of itself, was not a secret. I’ve actually talked about portions of this document publicly.”
The Spokesman-Review later published a follow-up article, after a campaign donor to Shea’s campaign publicly declared they wanted their money back. A spokeswoman for the Northwest Credit Union Association said that Shea’s “beliefs do not reflect the views and values of our organization, member credit unions or customers.”
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