SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Rep. Matt Shea has kept to Facebook while addressing allegations against him, but he recently joined a radio show hosted by a Spokane City Council member to make his first public comments.
Over the last week, the state representative has been linked to possible domestic terrorism by an investigation launched through the Washington State House.
Shea represents Washington’s 4th District, which includes the area surrounding Spokane Valley.
The 108-page investigation found that Shea “participated in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States” by helping plan the armed takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in 2016.
According to the investigation, Shea played a key role in two other armed conflicts against the U.S. government. The report said Shea helped plan the occupations by doing things like recruiting armed militia members.
The investigation has now been passed to the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office.
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“There’s a few of us that are standing in the gap,” Shea said on the Right Spokane Perspectives radio show. “Trump is one of them. It’s not about him it’s not about me, it’s about all of us. They’re attacking the values that really make America great and that’s what really this is all about.”
Mike Fagan is the host of Right Spokane Perspectives and his show was the first to get public comments out of the suspended state representative.
He sees the report as baseless accusations and says he’s known Shea for over a decade. He said he felt he needed to reach out to Shea for his side of the story.
“I kind of knew and felt like Matt was ready to explain his situation,” Fagan said.
There have been calls across the board for Shea to resign. One of those major voices Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who took to Twitter to call the report on Shea disturbing for all political parties.
Shea reinstated some of the messages he’s posted on Facebook.
“His two announcements simply put as this. He’s not going to resign and folks need to watch his personal Facebook page,” Fagan explained.