1. Early life and education

2. Military career

3. Political career

4. Controversy
    "Biblical Basis for War" manifesto 

5. Personal life

6. References

Matthew Thomas Shea (born April 18, 1974) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 4th Legislative District.

In October 2018 Shea acknowledged that he had distributed a four page manifesto linked to the Christian Identity movement, which called for the killing of non-Christian males if they do not follow fundamentalist biblical law.^[1][2] Shea was referred to the FBI for investigation as a result.^[3]

Early life and education

Shea graduated from high school in Bellingham before receiving a bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University in 1996 and a law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2006.^[4]

Military career

In 1996, Shea entered the U.S. Army as a lieutenant, spending four and a half years in the service; he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for eight months. During the Iraq War, Shea was deployed as a captain in the Army and Army National Guard.^[4]

Political career

Shea was first elected to office in 2008.^[5] He was re-elected in 2012,^[6] in 2014,^[7] and in 2016.^[8]

Shea hosts Patriot Radio, a twice-weekly show broadcast on the American Christian Network (ACN)^[9]

Shea endorsed Ron Paul during the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.^[10]

Shea was a co-founder and director of the Washington Family Foundation, a socially conservative advocacy group.^[11] He was also a board member of the anti-same-sex marriage group Protect Marriage Washington, and during his first time in office introduced legislation seeking to block the recognition of same-sex marriage in Washington.^[12]

Shea is a founding member and current chairman of the Coalition of Western States (COWS).^[13] In an interview, Shea stated that COWS' goals are to "facilitate the transfer of public lands back to the state level, and to have the states and counties manage the land".^[14] During the 2014 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Shea and other COWS members traveled to Burns, Oregon, allegedly attempting to negotiate on behalf of the militants occupying the reserve.^[15] In 2015, Shea supported Idaho Representative Heather Scott, a fellow COWS member, in a protest near the home of John Arnold. Arnold had received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) stating the VA had found him mentally incompetent, and protesters worried that his right to own firearms may have been impacted by the VA's findings.^[16]

Shea organized the Spokane chapter of ACT! for America, anti-Muslim organization designated as a hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center.^[17][18]

As a state legislator, Shea introduced House Memorials in 2015 and 2017 to create a new State of Liberty from Eastern Washington.^[19]

Controversy

Shea has been the focus of news articles related to angry outbursts at his legislative office, and a report claiming that he was disarmed by a commander while he served in Iraq due to anger management issues.^[20]

Differences between Shea and Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich resulted in Shea stating "the Southern Poverty Law Center — and the sheriff (Knezovich) that backs them — is the most dangerous organization in this country".^[21]

Shea has frequently clashed with journalists, referring to reporters as "those dirty, godless, hateful people" in an August 2018 gun-rights rally.^[22] Shea's contentious history with the press attracted particular attention because he is one of eight state legislators on a Washington Legislature task force dealing with state public records laws and exemptions to them.^[22]

"Biblical Basis for War" manifesto

In late October 2018, Shea acknowledged that he had distributed a document described as a "four-page manifesto" titled Biblical Basis for War that listed strategies that a "Holy Army" could employ.

The document, consisting of 14 sections divided into bullet points, condemned same-sex marriage and abortion, and a section regarding "rules of war" included a notation to "kill all males" who failed to yield. Shea claimed the manifesto was a summary of "biblical sermons on war."^[1][2]

Spokane County Sheriff Knezovich alerted the FBI to the manifesto and claimed that the statements made in the manifesto are consistent with a racist, anti-Semitic, and white supremacist ideology known as Christian Identity, which seeks to establish a "white homeland" in the US northwest.^[2][3]

Personal life

Shea was divorced from his first wife in January 2008.^[11] Lisa Shea was granted a protective order by a court after filing court documents complaining that Shea treated her "as a possession," and was physically and emotionally abusive. She attested that Shea "insisted she walk on his left side because his sword, if he had one, would be on his right side," and protested that he would not seek profitable employment despite being a lawyer.^[11] Shea denied any physical abuse.^[11] Matt Shea subsequently remarried.^[4]

In November 2011, Shea allegedly "pulled a gun during a confrontation with another motorist" in what police reports described as an incident of road rage.^[23] Shea was initially charged with possessing a loaded handgun in a vehicle without a concealed weapons permit; the charge was ultimately resolved under a "stipulated order of continuance," in which "Shea paid a $75 fee and agreed that the information in the police report is correct" and the charge was dismissed after the passage of one year with no criminal violations.^[23]

References

• Economy of Georgia (disambiguation)
• Economy of Germany under Bismarck
• Economy of Gjilan
• Economy of Greater Sudbury
• Economy of Holland
• Economy of Hubli
• Economy of Hyderabad
• Economy of Hyderabad, India
• Economy of Indore
• Economy of Iraqi Kurdistan
• Economy of Islamabad
• Economy of Jammu and Kashmir
• Economy of Karachay-Cherkessia
• Economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• Economy of Kollam
• Economy of Korea (disambiguation)
• Economy of les Saintes
• Economy of Lucknow
• Economy of Marie-Galante
• Economy of Medieval England
• Economy of Melbourne
• Economy of Micronesia
• Economy of Mizoram
• Economy of modern China
• Economy of Modern China