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What the Shooting Suspect Has Said About Republicans in Letters

James T. Hodgkinson had written several notes to the Belleville News-Democrat in 2012

Law enforcement talk outside the home of James T. Hodgkinson on Wednesday, in Belleville, Ill. Officials said Hodgkinson has been identified as the man who opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Law enforcement talk outside the home of James T. Hodgkinson on Wednesday, in Belleville, Ill. Officials said Hodgkinson has been identified as the man who opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The man suspected of wounding five people at a GOP congressional baseball team practice Wednesday morning had called on voters to remove all Republicans from Congress and further criticized the party and its members in a series of letters to an Illinois newspaper and on Facebook.

After the shooting, the Belleville News-Democrat — the suspect’s hometown paper — posted nine letters written by James T. Hodgkinson during the leadup to the 2012 general election. Roll Call has reproduced three of them here — all of them are available on the newspaper’s website. Highlighted are Hodgkinson’s words toward Republicans.

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Hodgkinson had also repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump in Facebook posts. The social media site appears to have removed his profile, though some of his posts have been made available by the CBS affiliate in Cleveland. They also appear below:

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