PA Police shooter portrayed as right-wing nut job, he was anything but

They are spinning the shooting of two State police officers in Northeastern Pennsylvania as perpetrated by a right-wing survivalist This from a local newspaper which cannot resist bringing up twice in the same story that he was involved in the school’s rifle team. It turns out he was anything but a right-wing nut case. Fox news is still spinning it as a “sharp shooting survivalist”, whatever that intends to mean. Here is the header from Weasel Zippers:

Being a “survivalist”, if in fact he was one, doesn’t by itself qualify him as “right-wing”.

PA Trooper Shooter Suspect Has MySpace Reference To Che Guevara, 13th Guards (Soviet Red Army Rifle Division)

Some stories have identified him as a “survivalist”, which some immediately are translating to “right wing nut”.

As with most things, best not to jump to conclusions till all the evidence is in.

In this case, it is clear from Frein’s MySpace account that he was an active participant in an Airsoft group, practicing shooting. There are a lot of connections to other Airsoft players.

There is also a connection to Che Guevara and 13th Guards. 13th Guards was a Soviet Red Army rifle division, also referenced on Call of Duty.

State police are searching for Eric Matthew Frein, who they say is armed with a high-powered rifle, extremely dangerous and the man they suspect in the fatal ambush shooting Friday at a Pike County state police barracks

Now how the local media portrays him:

Frein, 31, lives with his parents in Canadensis, about 20 miles from the Blooming Grove barracks.

Police say Frein, who was on the rifle team at Pocono Mountain High School and whose father describes him as an excellent marksman who “doesn’t miss,” is an extreme survivalist who has expressed a desire to kill law enforcement and commit mass murder.

Hated police

Police interviewed his father, Michael Frein, who told them that an AK-47 and a .308 rifle with a scope were missing from the home.

Michael Frein told police he is a retired major with 28 years in the Army, and that he had trained his son in shooting skills.

Michael Frein is quoted in a 1999 Pocono Record article advocating to keep the rifle team intact when the school considered abandoning the program.

At a press conference Tuesday, Noonan said Frein had for years expressed his hatred of police both in person and online.

More at the Pocono Record

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Che Guevara, Conservative, police, Red Army, Survivalist