Benton County Republicans decry report labeling state lawmaker a domestic terrorist
The Benton County Republican Party decried an investigation that labeled a state representative a domestic terrorist but declined to name him.
In a statement released just before 5 p.m. Saturday, the party called the so-called Rampart Report, produced by investigators at the Rampart Group, an “intellectually dishonest analysis.”
The 108-page report prompted Republican leaders to remove Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane, from their caucus and from other committees. The investigator claimed the representative is a leader in the Patriot Movement, and played a role in planning the 2016 standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and two other armed standoffs.
The report brought out several lawmakers and politicians including some prominent Republicans to denounce Shea including Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and House Republican Leader Rep. JT Wilcox, according to KHQ.
While the Benton County Republicans stopped short of mentioning Shea, they criticized the conclusions the report comes to.
“Phrases like ‘it is more probable than not’ and ‘believed to be’ are not based on fact but rather supposition and conjecture compiled from a variety of individual opinions, including those from certain media outlets. The report does not address why incidents, which occurred more than three years prior, suddenly required investigation,” the statement said.
The party also opposed anyone using violence or threats to further a political goal and supported the right for people to peacefully assemble.
They also leveled criticism at people who”attempt to broadly label active citizen groups as terrorist or the making of defamatory aspersions without evidence,” and people skirting due process by making “inflammatory public statements to the press and media.”
Benton County Republican spokesman Jerrod Hays said they took the wording from a similar release that was sent out by the Spokane County Republican Party.
The Benton County Party joins others around the state and Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier decrying the report, Hays says.
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 6:11 PM.