Re: [grendelreport] UCLA Shooter a Muslim!

As investigators scramble to make sense of last week’s tragic mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, new details have emerged about the possible motivations of the alleged gunman: namely, that his actions may have been inspired not only by politics, but also by his Christian faith.

After the accused gunman Robert Lewis Dear was apprehended last Friday for allegedly killing three people and wounding nine others, Dear reportedly used the phrase “no more baby parts” while explaining himself to law enforcement officials. The use of the phrase — a direct reference to the widely discredited claim that Planned Parenthood profits from the sale of fetal tissue — triggered a national conversation about Dear’s political influences. Some argue his actions could be a byproduct of conservatives who use misleading videos and hyperbolic rhetoric to defame the national women’s health provider.

But while some famous conservatives such Mike Huckabee were eventually willing to call the massacre a case of “domestic terrorism,” many on social media demanded that right-wing politicians refer to Dear as a “Christian terrorist.” They noted that it is hypocritical for GOP presidential candidates such as Marco Rubio to mock President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for not using the phrase “Islamic terrorism” when discussing militant groups such as ISIS, but avoid ascribing the same standard to terrorists who cite Christianity as their inspiration.

There initially wasn’t enough information to gauge Dear’s connection to the Christian faith. But on Tuesday, new information came to light that appears to link Dear to well known right-wing extremist movements that claim to be Christian.

The first came from the New York Times:

One person who spoke with [Dear] extensively about his religious views said Mr. Dear, who is 57, had praised people who attacked abortion providers, saying they were doing “God’s work.” In 2009, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concerns for the privacy of the family, Mr. Dear described as “heroes” members of the Army of God, a loosely organized group of anti-abortion extremists that has claimed responsibility for a number of killings and bombings.

The Times reporter also interviewed a close relative of Dear’s Colorado girlfriend Stephanie Bragg, who said the couple were “very religious, read the Bible often and are always talking about scripture.” The two reportedly lived in a trailer marked with a small cross, and that Bragg couldn’t believe Dear was “capable of such things.”

Nevertheless, Bragg told the relative she had a theory as to what drove her boyfriend to murder several people in cold blood: “He believed he was doing God’s will, and I’m sure he probably wanted to die in the process of carrying out what I’m sure he thought was right.”

Another report from the Charleston Post and Courier claimed that Dear was obsessed with an interpretation of the Christian apocalypse, and used dark, bizarre theology to justify disturbing acts of domestic violence against his ex wife.

“He claims to be a Christian and is extremely evangelistic, but does not follow the Bible in his actions,” Mescher, Dear’s ex-wife, reportedly stated in an affidavit when she filed for divorce. “He says that as long as he believes he will be saved, he can do whatever he pleases. He is obsessed with the world coming to an end.”

If true, Dear would appear to share the ideological leanings of so-called “Christian terrorists,” specifically participants in the “Christian identity movement” that have terrorized abortion providers for years. Dear’s supposed adoration for the Army of God, if true, is particularly telling: Members of the Army of God have long used the Bible to justify bombings at abortion clinics, attacks on gay and lesbian nightclubs, and even the infamous explosion at the Olympic village during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Although conservative news outlets such as the National Review have already published articlesdismissing the influence of such groups as “overhyped,” right-wing terrorist organizations — some of which claim to be Christian, some of which claim other affiliations such as Odinism or no religious identity — have killed more Americans since September 11, 2001

Re: [grendelreport] UCLA Shooter a Muslim!

Yes, The Planned Parenthood Shooter Is A ‘Christian Terrorist’

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