On Monday, a Trump supporter died after holding his newborn daughter hostage in a shoot-out with police. On social media, he claimed that “pedos” and transgender people were harassing him.
State troopers came to 29-year-old Steven Righini’s home in Portage Lake, Maine after the mother of his child, 18, reported that Righini shoved her into a wall. When police arrived, the mother was outside. The police attempted to speak with Righini when he pulled a gun and shot at the officers. He then ran back inside and blocked the entranced. According to reports, Righini shot at the troopers as they were trying to drive away, and Sheriff’s Deputy Shane Campbell was non-fatally shot.
Righini claimed in a video the police were trying to arrest him because of his conservative views. “Now they’re trying to arrest me simply because I do not believe in gay rights and abortion,” he says in the video.
The video shows Righini’s quick, panicked descent into conspiracy. He claims he could not find a job because of his political beliefs, and that he was segregated for them. He claims “pedos and transgenders” have harassed him for years, a dogwhistle suggesting the LGBTQ+ community target children. In the video, he says “That’s why I’m fighting. I’m fighting for the babies; I’m fighting for the unborn, and I’m fighting for righteousness and Christianity to be restored in this country.” All this happened while his four-week-old daughter was in the house with him.
After publishing the video along with additional posts on far-right platform X, Righini tried to run. His car was disabled by police, and so he ran on foot, fleeing the scene. He began shooting, killing a police dog and firing at police. The police then shot and killed Righini.
At a time when many of these beliefs are being normalized as mainstream, this is a grim reminder of the dark direction hateful and paranoid thoughts can take.
