Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King appeared to endorse the violent tactics of Willem Van Spronsen, the Antifa activist who attacked a private Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Washington state.
In a series of tweets posted Monday, King called Van Spronsen a “martyr” who was murdered for taking a stand against the treatment of migrants in detention facilities, and argued that his manifesto was “beautiful, painful, and devastating.” Van Spronsen was killed while attempting to firebomb the facility.
King began by sharing several photos of Van Spronsen, noting that his hero was the abolitionist John Brown.
“Willem Van Spronsen just became the first martyr attempting to liberate imprisoned refugees from a for-profit detention center in Tacoma, Washington,” he tweeted. “His hero was John Brown -the white abolitionist who led the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. This is what our country has come to.”
Willem Van Spronsen just became the first martyr attempting to liberate imprisoned refugees from a for-profit detention center in Tacoma, Washington.
His hero was John Brown -the white abolitionist who led the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.
This is what our country has come to. pic.twitter.com/y3STkjsp6o
— Shaun King (@shaunking) July 15, 2019
King went on to say that Van Spronsen’s manifesto was beautiful and that “inaction” in the face of the situation regarding migrants in U.S. detention is what is truly “crazy.” (RELATED: Willem Van Spronsen Calls On ‘Comrades’ To Bear Arms In Manifesto)
We are told that this is the final letter of Willem Van Spronsen – who was shot and killed by law enforcement as he attempted an attack on a for-profit refugee detention center in Tacoma, Washington.
It’s a beautiful, painful, devastating letter.
He wasn’t crazy -inaction is. pic.twitter.com/YMO1vhXCHn
— Shaun King (@shaunking) July 15, 2019
King concluded his assessment by claiming that Van Spronsen was neither “crazy,” nor a terrorist.
“This is where Willem was murdered this weekend,” King tweeted. “His actions will be called terrorism and people will call him crazy, but neither are true. His mind was very clear. He is now ‘arm in arm with John Brown.’ These camps must be shut down.”
This is where Willem was murdered this weekend.
His actions will be called terrorism and people will call him crazy, but neither are true. His mind was very clear.
He is now “arm in arm with John Brown.”
These camps must be shut down. pic.twitter.com/wzQPEYC2j9
— Shaun King (@shaunking) July 15, 2019
Some people argued that King was showing support for domestic terrorism.
In other news, Shaun King has entered the “open support for domestic terrorism” stage of his career pic.twitter.com/rc2rfwIoL9
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) July 16, 2019
Here are the Tweets, for those blocked. He actually calls this terrorist’s manifesto “beautiful.”
Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/izU93rTa3B— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) July 16, 2019
Unbelievable https://t.co/ozyuftnr9M
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 16, 2019
Look, you can be unhappy with the current conditions immigrants face at US facilities, but glorifying a man who attempted to firebomb a detention center is not only morally warped, but condones violence https://t.co/JqnN6aKTCA
— Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) July 15, 2019
Don’t like the lack of open borders? Don’t like standard immigration enforcement? Grab an AR-15 and some grenades and go try to murder some folks, that’s cool, you’re John Brown freeing the slaves!
This is moral perversion.
— Esoteric Jeff (@EsotericCD) July 16, 2019