Illinois man James Hodgkinson identified as Virginia shooter, Bernie Sanders supporter
The shooter at the GOP congressional baseball practice this morning is James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., according to law enforcement officials. Along with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Zack Barth, a legislative correspondent in the office of Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), a Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika has also been identified as one of the victims.
The law enforcement officials said the shooter was heard asking, “Are these the Republicans or the Democrats?” which immediately raised questions about the gunman’s political motivations.
Hodgkinson, 66, owns a home inspection business and is a leftist, supportive of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for President in 2016, even “apparently volunteered” on his 2016 presidential campaign.
“I am sickened by this despicable act,” Sanders said. “Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.”
Hodgkinson was a frequent writer to his local paper, the Belleville News-Democrat, where he railed against income inequality, linking it to the tax policies of the GOP, the newspaper reported.
“I have never said ‘life sucks,’ only the policies of the Republicans,’ he wrote in one letter.
“I don’t ever again want to hear how great a president [Ronald Reagan] was,” he wrote in March 2010. “All he did was give tax breaks to the rich and put the rest of the country (or at least 13.1 percent) out of work.”
“To think the Republican Party can call this man their idol is un-American,” he added. “It’s all about the money.”
In another, Hodgkinson said his favorite TV program was “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC.
“Trump is a Traitor,” Hodgkinson wrote in a May 22 Facebook post above a Change.org petition to remove Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for treason. “Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co”
Mika is in critical condition.
“We have confirmed that Matt Mika, director-government relations for our Washington, D.C. office, is among those who was shot this morning in Alexandria,” Gary Mickelson, a Tyson spokesman, said in a statement. “He has been taken to a local hospital and we’re awaiting word on his condition. Matt has worked for Tyson Foods for more than six years and we’re deeply concerned about him and his family.”
Hodgkinson was charged in April 2006 with battery and aiding damage to a motor vehicle, according to online records in St. Clair County, Ill. The charges were dismissed.
[…] Shaffer said there are many parallels between the attack and the one carried out against Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and other Republicans by James Thomas Hodgkinson, who volunteered for left-wing causes and was a vocal Bernie Sanders support… […]
[…] Reports emerged of his activism on behalf of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and disdain for Republicans and President Trump. […]
[…] and several others were shot in an Alexandria, Va. ballpark by a left-wing activist (supporter of Bernie Sanders) named James Hodgkinson who was also […]