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Man Who Opened Fire On GOP Lawmakers Is A Bernie Sanders Supporter, Called Trump A ‘Traitor’

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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The man who opened fire on Republican members of Congress at a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia is a supporter of Bernie Sanders and various liberal causes, according to his Facebook profile.

The Washington Post reported that the shooter has been identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from Belleville, Ill.

Hodgkinson opened fire on a group of Republican lawmakers early Tuesday morning while they were practicing for the upcoming annual congressional baseball game. Members of the Capitol Hill police unit exchanged fire with Hodgkinson before he was taken into custody.

Hodgkinson’s Facebook profile strongly suggests a political motivation for the shooting, which left several people injured, including Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise.

In several posts Hodgkinson claims to be a supporter of Sanders. The Post reported that he also volunteered for the Vermont senator’s presidential campaign in Iowa.

“He was this union tradesman, pretty stocky, and we stayed up talking politics,” said Charles Orear, who volunteered with Hodgkinson in Quad City. “He was more on the really progressive side of things.”

Hodgkinson also held a strong disdain for Republicans and President Trump, his posts show. In one, he called President Trump an “asshole.”

“Want to Say Mr. President, for being an ass hole you are Truly the Biggest Ass Hole We Have Ever Had in the Oval Office,” he wrote.

He was also a member of Facebook groups such as “Terminate the Republican party,” “Expose Republican Fraud,” and “Donald Trump is not my president.”

According to The Post, Hodgkinson was charged in April 2006 “with battery and aiding damage to a motor vehicle.” His home inspector license lapsed in November. And according to The Belleville News-Democrat, Hodgkinson registered as a Democrat in the 2016 election.

James Hodgkinson’s Facebook ‘likes’

Hodgkinson also posted about Scalise, who underwent surgery after the shooting but is in stable condition.

This is the second time in as many weeks that a Sanders supporter has been involved in a high-profile criminal case. Last week, the FBI arrested 25-year-old National Security Agency contractor Reality Leigh Winner for stealing Top Secret documents and mailing them to a news outlet. Winner’s social media footprint shows that she was also a Sanders backer.

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