1. Matthew Thomas Shea was born on April 18,1974 and is an American far-right lawyer, pastor, and politician.
34 Facts About Matt Shea
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In October 2018, Matt Shea acknowledged that he had distributed a four-page manifesto which called for the killing of non-Christian males if a war were to occur and they do not agree to follow fundamentalist biblical law.
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Matt Shea was referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigation as a result.
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Immediately after the report was issued, Matt Shea was removed from the House Republican Caucus, though he refused to resign.
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Matt Shea received a bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University in 1996 and a JD degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2006.
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Matt Shea was in the Army ROTC program at Gonzaga University.
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Matt Shea was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Kuwait, and left the Washington Army National Guard in 2006 with the rank of Captain.
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Matt Shea was first elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 2008, representing the 4th Legislative District, part of Spokane County.
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Matt Shea was re-elected four times, in 2012,2014,2016, and 2018.
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Matt Shea endorsed Jim Walsh in his legislative district 19 race in 2016.
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Matt Shea was a co-founder and director of the Washington Family Foundation, a socially conservative advocacy group.
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Matt Shea was a board member of the anti-same-sex marriage group Protect Marriage Washington, and during his first term in office introduced legislation seeking to block the recognition of same-sex marriage in Washington.
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Matt Shea is a founding member and current chairman of the Coalition of Western States.
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In 2015, Matt Shea supported Idaho Representative Heather Scott, a fellow COWS member, in a protest near the home of John Arnold.
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Matt Shea would have faced former State Representative Leonard Christian in the 2020 Republican primary.
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In June 2020, Matt Shea was announced as the next pastor of Covenant Christian Church in Spokane, replacing current pastor Ken Peters.
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Matt Shea has often clashed with journalists, referring to reporters as "dirty, godless, hateful people" at an August 2018 gun-rights rally.
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Matt Shea refers to local newspapers as the "Socialist-Review" and the "Inslander", the latter referring to Jay Inslee.
19.
In late October 2018, Matt 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.
20.
An investigation commissioned by Washington House of Representatives reported, on December 1,2019, that Matt Shea had planned and participated in domestic terrorism on at least three occasions.
21.
Matt Shea led a delegation of right-wing legislators from Oregon, Washington and Idaho that met with law enforcement on January 9,2016, in Burns, Oregon and were appraised of confidential intended law enforcement strategies for dealing with the refuge occupiers.
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Matt Shea then disclosed those details to Bundy, according to the report.
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Matt Shea was stripped of committees and suspended from having any role in the House Republican caucus.
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In May 2020, Matt Shea was fined $4,761.34 for damaging historic masonry by intentionally leaving a trail of slick olive oil on the steps of the Capitol.
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The incident occurred on March 6,2020, which was the same day as a demonstration by the Satanic Temple of Washington, and Matt Shea stated he needed to clean the ground after the Satanic ritual.
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In March 2022, Matt Shea was discovered in Poland with a group of 62 Ukrainian refugee children, claiming to be arranging their adoption via an unregistered and unaccredited American adoption agency.
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In November 2011, Matt Shea "pulled a gun during a confrontation with another motorist" in what police reports described as an incident of road rage.
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Matt 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 "Matt 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.
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Matt Shea was granted a protective order by a court after filing court documents stating her husband treated her "as a possession" and was physically and emotionally abusive.
30.
Matt Shea's brother-in-law testified in court documents that he saw Matt Shea grabbing her "very hard and violently" and pushing her into a vehicle.
31.
Lisa Shea attested that Matt "insisted she walk on his left side because his sword, if he had one, would be on his right side," and forbade her from writing a church bulletin.
32.
Matt Shea complained that he had expected her to support him financially during and after his time in law school, but that he would not seek profitable employment even after graduating from law school.
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Matt Shea denied any physical abuse, called his ex-wife a "product of the foster care system", and said this was her third divorce.
34.
Matt Shea married his second wife, the Ukrainian-born Viktoriya Vinnikova, shortly after the divorce.