John Russel Houser, who is believed to
have killed two people and injured nine inside a Louisiana movie
theater on Thursday before killing himself, once praised the work of
the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, which is based in Topeka,
Kansas.
Westboro is best known for coining the
phrase “God hates fags” and protesting the funerals of fallen
soldiers.
Houser, a 59-year-old registered member
of the Tea Party Nation website, left
dozens of messages across the Internet.
In several instances, he wrote about
“the power of the lone wolf.”
“Do not mistake yourselves for one
minute, the enemy sees all posted on this website,” he wrote last
year on a forum dedicated to the New York chapter of Golden Dawn,
Greece's neo-Nazi political party. “I do not want to discourage
the last hope for the best, but you must realize the power of the
lone wolf, is the power that come forth in ALL situations. Look
within yourselves.”
In several posts, he praised Adolf
Hitler. “Hitler is loved for the results of his pragmatism,” he
wrote last year.
In other messages, he railed against
gay rights and praised the Westboro Baptist Church.
“The Westboro Baptist Church may be
the last real church in America [members not brainwashed],” he
wrote two years ago.
“All sexual deviants are equal, that
is true. Put them on a cold island or put decent people on a cold
island. Either way, that will end the problem. Decent people can
retake the entire world, as Hitler proved,” Houser wrote in
January.
Houser also predicted the “death”
of the United States, describing it as “no more than a financially
failing filth farm.”