On two Facebook accounts, Hodgkinson regularly posted statuses opposing President Trump while praising Bernie Sanders.
The suspect for the shooting at a Republican baseball practice was an outspoken GOP critic who said this year that it was time to “destroy Trump” and his allies.
Authorities identified James T. Hodgkinson, a home inspector from Belleville, Ill., as the lone suspect for the attack that left five people injured, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a Republican. President Trump said in a televised address that Hodgkinson, 66, died from police gunshot wounds.
Police did not immediately confirm a motive for the shooting.
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) , who was at the practice, said a man asked him soon before the shooting whether Democrats or Republicans were practicing on the field.
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Hodgkinson ran a home inspection business, JTH Inspections, in Belleville. He left that job at the end of 2016, according to his Facebook page.
On two Facebook accounts, Hodgkinson regularly posted statuses opposing President Trump and Hillary Clinton, while praising Bernie Sanders.
Sanders said in a statement that Hodgkinson « apparently volunteered » for his presidential campaign.
« Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms, » Sanders said.
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Hodgkinson wrote just three months ago about his desire to bring down Trump and the GOP.
“Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co., ” he said in a March Facebook post.
He was also a member of several anti-GOP Facebook groups, including « Terminate the Republican Party » and « The Road to Hell is Paved with Republicans. »
Hodgkinson showed strong support for Sanders, the socialist senator who challenged Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. One of his Facebook pages features a Sanders picture as its cover photo, and the other has a profile picture of Sanders depicted as Uncle Sam.
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Hodgkinson participated in a 2012 Belleville protest against income inequality, where he said he was part of the “99%, ” according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
