The killer in the Lafayete, Lousiana theater shooting that left two of his victims dead and nine people injured wrote bizarre emails to a Tea Party leader in 2013 where he described himself as a “weirdo” with a “bent personality” and “a diagnosed personality disorder.”
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Christina Botteri, one of the original organizers of the Tea Party rallies in 2009, co-founder of the National Tea Party Federation, and that group’s volunteer media contact, detailed how she once exchanged emails and spoke on the phone with John Russell “Rusty” Houser, the man that police say was the shooter in the Lafayette movie theater killing.
Botteri said, “Houser reached out to me in 2013 with the bizarre claim that he was the best arguer anywhere and had a winning media strategy to win all arguments. I realized very quickly that he wasn’t cogent. His emails seemed to come from a very disorganized thinker. He was obviously a troubled person.”
Houser intially contacted Botteri by phone and then sent her a bizarre email :
On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 2:18 PM, Rusty Houser <*****@gmail.com> wrote:
I enjoyed our conversation. It is my desire to convey to you the unbridled power of being in the right. Should you master this, with your well rounded personality, you would be a female Ronald Reagan. Put another way, within yourself love and power could work together, with you failing only to take credit or recognize within yourself that your role was significant.
After a polite response from Botteri, Houser wrote back two days later in an email that began:
Sun, Sep 8, 2013 at 9:57 PM, Rusty Houser <*****@gmail.com> wrote:
Christina
Let me apologize in advance for being a fool who assumes excessively everyday in every way.It is the hallmark of my bent personality, and it is a diagnosed personality disorder .At the same time you need to know that at times in my life there have been associations with people of greatness and that it has never in any way affected my ability to do anything fun.ie you are communicating with a weirdo you will completely understand.I have seen a psychiatrist for a total of less than 4 hours in my life, only because I could never see myself adopting normal behavior at the risk of giving up the panoramic view I am going to share with you.
Houser later wrote:
Thu, Sep 12, 2013 at 7:06 AM, Rusty Houser <*****@gmail.com> wrote:
have not heard from you
if the first letter shook you just consider the second
Some parts of Houser’s correspondence with Botteri are barely coherent. On November 13th, Houser sent an email that read in part:
Why would it be good for JCP/KMART/SEARS/RSH retail to close and vacate the premises occupied aside from their ceasing to be viable?
The average person 95% of all must be hit over the head and have a simply worded placard thrust in their direct path before undertaking the slightest independent consideration.
The large caverns created in bobo’s modern day pyramid by such closings would generate base considerations in the minds of the masses:
Are rough times ahead?
Should I be cutting back on discretionary spending?……………..
…………………………………………….Is it possible that the US could be placed in an economic position necessitating it’s people pull together lockstep fashion merely for survival?…………………….Is the percentage of those who predictably will not contribute too high for hope of success ALL-TIME GIMMIE ?
Botteri says she knows of no real world Tea Party connection to Houser and said, “He never expressed any interest to me in being part of the Tea Party movement. If he ever attended any Tea Party event, I’m not aware of it. He never mentioned anything to me about going to meetings or being part of any group.”
Botteri stressed the principles of the Tea Party include an explicit rejection of violence, something she is concerned the mainstream media may ignore, telling Breitbart News:
In all materials since the formation of the Tea Party Federation, we’ve always stressted that we are anti-violence and opposed to discriminaton. We’re very open about that. However I didn’t see any warning signs of violence from Houser. I remember thinking, “Good Lord, I hope he doesn’t call me again” and I hope he gets some help.
Botteri had no contact with Houser after 2013.
Breitbart News will be publishing Houser’s emails in full.
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