A Washington state politician has suggested in a manifesto that all men who support abortion and gay marriage be killed, among other extreme religious views.
Washington state Rep. Matt Shea admitted Wednesday that he wrote and distributed the four-page document, called the “Biblical Basis for War,” which includes 14 sections on how biblical war can and would unfold. Shea, a Republican who represents Spokane in the state’s House, is up for re-election in the midterms next week. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The document asserts that all men must oppose abortion, gay marriage, communism, and occultism when biblical war begins. Otherwise, they will be murdered.
“If they do not yield — kill all males,” the document reads.
Section 5 of the manifesto asserts that during war, “numbers are inconsequential” and “God is with us, and the Battle is His.” Section 6 mentions circumcision and that the Biblical army may make sacrifices to achieve its goals. Section 11 includes a detailed organizational structure for the Biblical army, with the highest rank of “Battalion Commander.”
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has turned the manifesto over to the FBI.
After the Spokesman-Review broke the story about the manifesto, Shea — who has long expressed distress over gay marriage — turned to Facebook Live to explain that his comments about murdering people were taken out of context and that he’s not advocating for actual violence.
“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,” Shea said in a video. “This document, in and of itself, was not a secret. I’ve actually talked about portions of this document publicly.”
Shea also complained about a recent profile of him in Rolling Stone, which characterized the elected official as an extremist. He also took time to rail against the two “counterstates” (“Marxists” and “Islamists”) who want to defeat him.
In light of the manifesto, at least one of Shea’s donors has asked for his contribution to be returned.
Cover image: Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, speaks about a proposed amendment to a gay marriage bill Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
