Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 4th district
In office January 12, 2009 – January 11, 2021
Preceded by
Lynn Schindler
Succeeded by
Bob McCaslin Jr.
Personal details
Born
Matthew Thomas Shea
(1974-04-18) April 18, 1974 (age 50) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Political party
Republican
Spouses
Lisa Jenn
(m. 2002; div. 2008)
Viktoriya Vinnikova
(m. 2008)
Residence
Spokane Valley, Washington
Education
Gonzaga University (BA, JD)
Occupation
Lawyer, pastor, politician
Website
Official (archive)
Military service
Allegiance
United States
Branch/service
United States Army Washington Army National Guard
Years of service
1996–2000 2001–2006
Rank
Captain
Battles/wars
Iraq War
Matthew Thomas Shea (born April 18, 1974) is an American far-right lawyer, pastor, and politician. A Republican, he represented the 4th legislative district in the Washington House of Representatives from 2009 to 2021. A 2019 report published by the Washington House of Representatives accused Shea of domestic terrorism in relation to his role in a series of standoffs with federal authorities.[1][2]
In October 2018, Shea acknowledged that he had distributed a four-page manifesto which called for the killing of non-Christian males if a war were to occur and they do not agree to follow fundamentalist biblical law.[3][4] Shea was referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigation as a result.[5] In April 2019, Shea was removed as State House Republican Caucus Chair for advocating violence against religious minorities and offering state surveillance of political enemies to members of hate groups.[6]
An investigative report commissioned by the House, issued on December 1, 2019, found that Shea "participated in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States", organized and supported "three armed conflicts of political violence", and advocated replacing the government with a theocracy and "the killing of all males who do not agree."[7][8] A former ally of Shea provided documents showing that Shea and his supporters were planning to seize control of the region after the outbreak of civil war, installing Shea as governmental leader in order to institute "constitutional changes" to "sanctify to Jesus Christ".[9] Immediately after the report was issued, Shea was removed from the House Republican Caucus,[10] though he refused to resign.[11]
^"Report on far-right Republican Matt Shea in hands of Washington legislators". Theguardian.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
^"Washington Legislator Matt Shea Accused Of 'Domestic Terrorism,' Report Finds". npr.org. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
^"Washington State lawmaker's 'Holy Army' manifesto prompts FBI scrutiny". The Daily Beast. November 1, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^Sokol, Chad (November 2, 2018). "Washington state lawmaker Matt Shea defends advocacy for 'Holy Army' as Spokane sheriff refers his writings to FBI". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^"Lawmaker says he distributed Biblical Basis for War paper". U.S. News & World Report. AP. November 1, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^"WA Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib announces rep. Matt Shea has ..." KHQ.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
^Romo, Vanessa (December 20, 2019). "Washington Legislator Matt Shea accused of 'domestic terrorism', report finds". NPR.org. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
^Loedler, Kathy; Loedler, Paul (December 1, 2019). "Report of Investigation Regarding Representative Matt Shea". Washington State House of Representatives. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
^Baker, Mike (December 23, 2019). "G.O.P. Lawmaker Had Visions of a Christian Alternative Government". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Controversial Washington lawmaker spreads views across West". apnews.com. Associated Press. January 23, 2020.
Matthew Thomas Shea (born April 18, 1974) is an American far-right lawyer, pastor, and politician. A Republican, he represented the 4th legislative district...
bill proposal in 2019 by MattShea and Bob McCaslin Jr. in the Washington House of Representatives. It was proposed by Shea as House Memorials in 2015...
be the head of the group. In August 2023, a BBC investigation led by MattShea discovered evidence of women groomed into online sex work by members of...
appeared on stage alongside Sean Feucht and former state representative MattShea at a Christian nationalist prayer event hosted at The Podium in downtown...
has been a vocal supporter of Washington State Republican politician MattShea. In January 2019, the Washington State Three Percenters coordinated with...
Representatives reported Washington state legislator, far-right activist MattShea had planned and participated in domestic terrorism, for his involvement...
films". USA Today. Gannett Co. Inc. Retrieved March 24, 2010. Larry Carroll; Matt Elias (May 18, 2009). "Shia LaBeouf Gets Behind The Camera For Rapper Cage"...
"Spokane mayor says she didn't know MattShea would be at Christian nationalist concert headlined by MattShea's Christian nationalist buddy". Inlander...
reported then-Washington state legislator, theocrat and white supremacist MattShea, had planned and participated in domestic terrorism on at least three...
Shea Christopher Patterson (born January 17, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League...
Sabre—was released on 27 June 2014. Writing for the Faster Louder website, MattShea revealed in early August that the first single was met with a mixed reaction...
Shea Ryan Langeliers (born November 18, 1997) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He...
Works production plants near Detroit, MI. Washington state legislator MattShea (R-Spokane Valley) is accused of domestic terrorism on three occasions...
Western States (COWS), a group founded by Washington state representative MattShea that has been accused of involvement in domestic terrorism. In April 2020...
John Victor Shea III (/ʃeɪ/ SHAY; born April 14, 1949) is an American actor, film producer, and stage director. His career began on Broadway where he starred...
James Boags for $325m". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2013. MattShea (9 October 2013). "Tap King: Beer of the Future or Frothy Fail?". The...
(Republican), talk radio host and former aide to state representative MattShea Jacquelin Maycumber (Republican), state representative from the 7th district...
NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved November 6, 2018. Shea, John (October 29, 2018). "A's Matt Chapman, Matt Olson win defensive awards". San Francisco Chronicle...
was read by Donald Trump Jr. who passed on a copy of it to his father. MattShea, a Republican former member of the Washington House of Representatives...
documentary Inside The Laughing Gas Black Market, in which journalist MattShea met with dealers of the drug who stole it from hospitals. A significant...
Sanders 383 18 Jun 2019 Frank Gardiner Nick Cody Live 384 25 Jun 2019 Rep. MattShea (aka Verum Bellator) 385 2 Jul 2019 Racer Janet Guthrie 386 9 Jul 2019...
American action thriller film directed by Matt Eskandari and starring Bruce Willis, Chad Michael Murray, and Shea Buckner. The film was released in the United...
Global Information
United States
United States Army
Washington Army National Guard
Captain