Congressional Shooter Recently Wrote, "It's Time To Destroy Trump & Co." | The Smoking Gun

The gunman who opened fire this morning on Republican congressmen and staffers recently declared in a Facebook post that, “It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”

The accused shooter, James T. Hodgkinson, 66, posted a link to a Change.org petition in late-March that included the notation that, “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”

Hodgkinson’s Facebook page includes numerous photos of Senator Bernie Sanders, whom Hodgkinson appears to have strongly supported during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. In posts last August, Hodgkinson wrote, “I want Bernie to Win the White House” and “Bernie is a Progressive, while Hillary is Republican Lite.”

In a statement, Sanders said that he had been informed that Hodgkinson "apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign," adding that, "I am sickened by this despicable act...Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms."

According to Hodgkinson’s Facebook page, he is a member of numerous left-leaning online groups, including The Road To Hell Is Paved With Republicans; Rachel Maddow For President 2020; Sanders For President 2020; Terminate The Republican Party; and Donald Trump is not my President.

Hodgkinson, a Belleville, Illinois resident, has worked as a home inspector. According to his firm's Yelp page, Hodgkinson has operated JTH Inspections since 1994.