OLYMPIA, Wash — Democratic leaders of the state House of Representatives may not take any further action against a Republican lawmaker who has been accused of "domestic terrorism'' unless they get enough Republican votes to expel him.
Democratic House Speaker Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma says she needs at least nine GOP votes, along with all 57 Democrats, to boot state Representative Matt Shea of Spokane Valley from the chamber.
Jinkins says it takes a two-thirds majority of the House to expel Shea. Jinkins on Tuesday told The Spokesman-Review that Democrats plan to release the documents compiled by private investigators in a Dec. 1 report that produced the terrorism allegation.
Those supporting documents will be released in the next week or two.
Shea is a Republican representing the state's 4th District and lives in the Spokane Valley area. His current term is slated to end in 2021. In response to the report, House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox suspended Shea from the caucus.
The report was made public Thursday, Dec. 19. It alleges three incidents when Shea helped militias and others take part in armed conflicts with government officials.
"Representative Shea is a prominent leader of the Patriot Movement. He self-identifies as a member of the Patriot Movement and shares its ideological beliefs," states a Dec. 1 report to the Washington State House of Representatives.
The report notes that Shea is an attorney and is aware of the law around his activities. It also states that there is no evidence that he "presents an imminent direct threat to any individual or group..." The report goes on, however, to say that he has "presented a significant threat of political violence against employees of the Federal Government and state and local law enforcement officers, carried out through intermediaries sympathetic to the Patriot Movement."
The Patriot Movement is a cluster of like-minded groups including militias, people who claim sovereign citizenship, people who protest taxation, and those motivated by radical religious ideologies.
3 armed conflicts
The report details that "...Investigators obtained evidence that Representative Shea planned, engaged in, and promoted a total of three armed conflicts of political violence against the United States (US) Government in three states outside of the State of Washington over a three-year period to include 2014, 2015, and 2016."
The three incidents include:
The report summarizes eight total findings, expressing other concerns about the lawmaker. They include:
Shea garnered several headlines over the past year, which raised enough suspicion to prompt the House investigation.
Initially, one of his documents was discovered, titled "A Biblical Basis for War." Shea said it was notes on a Bible study. Critics argued otherwise saying that it was a manifesto. The document states that enemies should not engage in abortion, communism, or same-sex marriage among other rules. If they do not comply, then "kill all males." It further stated that a tyrant was a leader who rules without God, and that it was "just, not murder" to assassinate a tyrant.
A handful of other headlines included Shea over 2019. Such as, he endorsed training children to fight in a holy war. And he took part in private messages where participants were encouraging violence and surveillance of liberals in the Spokane area. Shea offered to help run background checks on the locals.
The December report notes that Shea opted to not be interviewed for the investigation, despite offers for him to respond to allegations. Shea did not respond to phone calls, emails, or certified letters asking for interviews. Instead, his lawyer responded to set up a time, but had to confer with his client. Investigators heard no further communication from Shea or his attorney before the conclusion of the investigation on Dec. 1.