From staff reports
State Rep. Matt Shea participated in an online chat in 2017 that
discussed taking violent action against leftist protesters, according
to
a report from the Guardian.
The group also suggested that it conduct surveillance on its opponents.
The Guardian said it received copies of the conversation from someone
who participated in the chat but who requested anonymity. The chat
apparently took
place in the days leading up to a rumored “antifa” event. Antifa is
short for anti-fascist and refers to groups who protest white
supremacists, sometimes
with violence. The event never materialized.
The report doesn’t show Shea making threats of violence himself, but
it also indicates that he didn’t attempt to dissuade the other
participants in the
conversation, according to portions of the chat released by the
Guardian. He appeared to back the idea of conducting surveillance when
he asked chat participants
for a list of people on whom he should perform background checks.
In response to the report, Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib, a Democrat, called on
Republican leaders to discipline Shea.
“I call on House Republicans to do the right thing and eject Matt Shea
from their caucus. Obtaining background checks on people for the
purpose of planning
violence against them is a crime, and even offering to do so is
clearly 100% unacceptable in the Legislature,” Habib tweeted.