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A week before his re-election last year, state Rep. Matt Shea denied that a leaked manifesto he wrote was a road map for a holy war, one that would pit conservative Christian “patriots” against Muslim and Marxist “terrorists.”
Rather, Shea insisted, the document titled “Biblical Basis for War” contained notes for a scholarly sermon on war in the Old Testament.
But newly leaked emails, first reported by The Guardian on Wednesday, as well as a video on Shea’s public Facebook page, show the Spokane Valley Republican has had close ties with a group called Team Rugged that trained children, teens and men in their early 20s for religious combat.
“The entire purpose behind Team Rugged is to provide patriotic and biblical training on war for young men,” a man identified as the group’s leader, Patrick Caughran, wrote in a July 2016 email to Shea. “Everything about it is both politically incorrect and what would be considered shocking truth to most modern christians. There will be scenarios where every participant will have to fight against one of the most barbaric enemies that are invading our country, Muslims terrorists.”
Caughran added that a Team Rugged event would offer “biblical teaching” based on the works of John Weaver, a racist preacher who has defended slavery, idolized the Confederacy and condemned interracial marriage. The Southern Poverty Law Center says Weaver “has recently become a leading proponent of training Christians for armed battle.”
...
Caughran went on to ask Shea to connect him with “John Jacob Schmidt,” the pseudonym of far-right podcaster Jack Robertson, who once proposed physically attacking liberal demonstrators in a leaked group chat that included Shea.
Shea replied to Caughran and passed along his request to Robertson.
Team Rugged’s Facebook page and website were taken down after The Guardian reported about the emails on Wednesday. It’s unclear if the group is still active.
The emails between Caughran and Shea were contained in a trove of Shea-related documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review through multiple sources. The same materials have been turned over to a team of private investigators hired by the state House of Representatives to determine whether Shea has promoted political violence.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...orsed-training-children-to-fight-in-holy-war/
Rather, Shea insisted, the document titled “Biblical Basis for War” contained notes for a scholarly sermon on war in the Old Testament.
But newly leaked emails, first reported by The Guardian on Wednesday, as well as a video on Shea’s public Facebook page, show the Spokane Valley Republican has had close ties with a group called Team Rugged that trained children, teens and men in their early 20s for religious combat.
“The entire purpose behind Team Rugged is to provide patriotic and biblical training on war for young men,” a man identified as the group’s leader, Patrick Caughran, wrote in a July 2016 email to Shea. “Everything about it is both politically incorrect and what would be considered shocking truth to most modern christians. There will be scenarios where every participant will have to fight against one of the most barbaric enemies that are invading our country, Muslims terrorists.”
Caughran added that a Team Rugged event would offer “biblical teaching” based on the works of John Weaver, a racist preacher who has defended slavery, idolized the Confederacy and condemned interracial marriage. The Southern Poverty Law Center says Weaver “has recently become a leading proponent of training Christians for armed battle.”
...
Caughran went on to ask Shea to connect him with “John Jacob Schmidt,” the pseudonym of far-right podcaster Jack Robertson, who once proposed physically attacking liberal demonstrators in a leaked group chat that included Shea.
Shea replied to Caughran and passed along his request to Robertson.
Team Rugged’s Facebook page and website were taken down after The Guardian reported about the emails on Wednesday. It’s unclear if the group is still active.
The emails between Caughran and Shea were contained in a trove of Shea-related documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review through multiple sources. The same materials have been turned over to a team of private investigators hired by the state House of Representatives to determine whether Shea has promoted political violence.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...orsed-training-children-to-fight-in-holy-war/