Spokane area Rep. Matt Shea fined nearly $5,000 for damage to state Capitol steps during protest

[brooklynite]

Source: Seattle Times

Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, who last year was accused of domestic terrorism by a House-commissioned report, intentionally leaked a trail of olive oil along the steps of a Capitol building, causing more than $4,700 in damages, according to the state Department of Enterprise Services.

Shea, R-Spokane Valley, is being billed $4,761.34 for damage to the steps and base of Legislative Building North, Department of Enterprises (DES) spokeswoman Linda Kent said.

The damage occurred on the same day as a March 6 demonstration at the Capitol organized by the Satanic Temple of Washington, DES said. Video of a demonstration that day shows people dressed in black hooded gowns marching with black and white American flags and beating drums. The demonstrators marched in front of a sign proclaiming “Satan has NO rights” and several carried pentagram symbols, often associated with Satanism.

Shea can be seen on surveillance video carrying a bottle of olive oil through Capitol hallways, on Capitol grounds and on the stone steps that ended up stained. In some of the videos he is trailed by a group of men wearing black leather vests emblazoned with crucifixes. Several of the men carry shofars, or rams horns.



Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/rep-matt-shea-fined-nearly-5000-for-damage-to-capitol-steps-during-march-protest/

[Zoonart]

1. WTAF is going on?

[brooklynite]

2. You can't be too careful...

...as I recall, John Ashcroft anointed his AG office with holy oil...just in case.

[RVN VET71]

6. Let the Eagle Soar but cover the Statue of Lady Justice!

Ashcroft remains the only Senator ever to be voted out of office and lose his seat to a deceased opponent. He was such a smarmy fool that, of course, President Cheney/Bush brought him in as AG.

But Shea is a nazi sympathizing militia enabler who has no business serving any government of the United States in any capacity ever. I'll go even further and say that it is probable that any knowledgeable voter who votes for him is him or herself a nazi sympathizer and, at heart, a traitor to every good thing this country stands for.

[iemitsu]

13. Hear, hear!

You pegged this one right.

[TheNewNumberTwo]

16. #firetheliars2020

[bleep] Matt Shea, hypocrite all the way!

[paleotn]

7. Battle of the nuts.

The Christo-nuts and the Satan worshipers will unleash their superstitions on each other.....causing no real damage.

[brooklynite]

4. Satanic Temple was protesting lack of religious rights...

Satanic Temple representative Tarkus Claypool said members of the satanic group and their allies contacted their state legislators in hopes of getting an invitation to give the opening invocation on any of the 40 legislative calendar sessions without success.

"Unfortunately, no legislator invited us to give the opening invocation in the chamber, so we give our invocation outside on the North Steps," Claypool said. "We may not get a place inside, but we will be heard nonetheless."

https://komonews.com/news/local/congregation-of-washington-satanists-allowed-to-perform-ritual-at-state-capitol

Shea in turn was "protecting" the Capitol by anointing it with oil. Works every time...

[brooklynite]

11. Heathen!

Holy Water is CATHOLIC!

[csziggy]

14. The Satanic Temple is a nontheist group fighting for freedom of religion

The Satanic Temple is a nontheistic religious group based in United States.[1][2][3][4] The Temple is recognized as a church for the purposes of tax exemption,[5] with chapters in 16 US states, as well as two in Canada and one in the United Kingdom.[6] The group uses Satanic imagery to promote egalitarianism, social justice, and the separation of church and state. Their stated mission is "to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people". The group was co-founded by Lucien Greaves, the organization's spokesperson, and Malcolm Jarry.[7] The Satanic Temple has utilized satire, theatrical ploys, humor, and direct legal action in their public campaigns to "generate attention and prompt people to reevaluate fears and perceptions", and to "highlight religious hypocrisy and encroachment on religious freedom".[8][9][10][11]

The organization actively participates in public affairs that have manifested in several public political actions and efforts at lobbying,[12][13] with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against Christian privilege that it says interferes with personal religious freedom. It considers marriage a religious sacrament that should be governed under the First Amendment's protection of religious liberty, and which should prevail over state laws.[14] Because the group regards inviolability of the body as a key doctrine, it also views all restrictions on abortion, including mandatory waiting periods, as an infringement on the rights of Satanists to practice their religion.[15] The Satanic Temple does not believe in a supernatural Satan. The Temple uses the literary Satan as a metaphor to promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity.[7] Satan is thus used as a symbol representing "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms.[16][17]

History
In an interview with The New York Times, co-founder Malcolm Jarry stated that the idea of starting a Satanic faith-based organization was first conceived as one "that met all the Bush administration's criteria for receiving funds, but was repugnant to them". The idea was inspired by then–president George W. Bush's formation of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, for which he thought something should be done to counter it.[7] The Satanic Temple was founded in 2013.[18][7][3] On April 25, 2019, the Temple announced it had been granted tax exempt status after being formally recognized as a church by the Internal Revenue Service.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple

The people in the photo are not the ones that followed Shea around - he had his own group of dressed up followers - they are shown in a different photo and a video with the article linked in the OP.

“Satanists showed up to perform some sort of ritual,” Shea wrote on Facebook, on the day of the protest. “It failed. We are victorious in Christ and He granted us victory today. We prayed, claimed, and cleaned the ground, and evangelized showing the radical love of God.”

His "cleaning the ground" involved splashing olive oil across historic steps and flooring made of marble:

Another video shows the damage: A stain, about 100-feet long according to a DES incident report, that runs from the street, up the building’s marble steps, and along its base to its entry.

“Special care must be taken when cleaning and repairing historic masonry such as the masonry of the Legislative Building,” Kent said. “There is considerable science involved in the preservation and cleaning of historic masonry.”

“Masonry materials are porous and oils and other materials can penetrate into the microscopic pores making extraction of the oil or other materials a time consuming and difficult process,” she said.

In the video linked with the article, the oil involved appears to be a bottle of plain olive oil so I'm not sure how that might have "cleaned the ground."

This is the kind of stupidity that the Satanic Temple works against.

[BlueIdaho]

5. Matt Shea is one weird motherfucker...

These folks? Mostly harmless...

[riversedge]

8. Shea has faced calls to resign over his involvement in a six-week armed takeover of the Malheur Nati

But the Repugs in their Legislature refuse to out him.



...........“People often do not realize long-term damage can be caused to historic buildings with such actions,” Kent said. “In cases like this, the cost to taxpayers to make such repairs is typically handled administratively, with the responsible party billed.”

Chris Loftis, a State Patrol spokesman, said they would investigate, but only if asked.

“DES made the determination that it was in the best interests to pursue it administratively,” Loftis said. “We follow their lead. DES is effectively the landlord of the property.”

Shea did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shea has faced calls to resign over his involvement in a six-week armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon in 2016, which involved dozens of armed protesters and ended after one protester was shot dead and dozens were arrested.

[Hekate]

9. What. The. Hell.

[Jake Stern]

12. I don't think there should be ANY invocations in the legislature

but if you are going to then each group should have a shot at at.

[Initech]

17. Is that a scene from the Monty Python reboot?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

18. I thought he was quitting politics

https://www.democraticunderground.com/108213764