Congress gunman raged against Trump online, says 'It's time to destroy Trump & Co

US authorities have identified the gunman who opened fire on Republican lawmakers as they practice for a charity baseball game early Wednesday as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from the St Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois.
According to reports, Hodgkinson raged against US President Donald Trump on social media and idolised Bernie Sanders, whom he saw as the only politician who understood the working class and once singled out House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was wounded in the attack.

"Here's a Republican that should lose his job, but they gave him a raise,'' James T. Hodgkinson allegedly wrote in a 2015 post to his Facebook account, referring to the Louisiana congressman. The message was accompanied by a cartoon depiction of Scalise.

Along with Scalise, Hodgkinson shot and wounded Capitol Hill police officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey, House staff member Zach Barth and Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika.
 

Hodgkinson died from injuries sustained following a shootout with Capitol Hill police at the scene in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, DC.

Hodgkinson is believed by investigators to have been a person "of strong views", a senior US official said.

Hodgkinson was a member of many anti-Republican groups on Facebook, including "The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans", "Terminate The Republican Party", and "Donald Trump is not my President", his profile showed before it was taken down.

"Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co," Hodgkinson wrote in a March 22 post.

Hodgkinson went to Washington several weeks ago to protest against Trump's election, his brother told the New York Times.

Hodgkinson's Facebook profile featured a cover photo of Sanders, a US senator from Vermont who lost to Hillary Clinton in his bid to be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 2016.

Sanders said the suspect had "apparently volunteered" on his campaign and condemned the shooting as a "despicable act".

Hodgkinson's criminal history included a 2006 arrest on battery charges that were later dismissed, as well as multiple traffic violations.

Hodgkinson had been licensed as a home inspector and real estate appraiser but did not renew his home inspector licence after it expired in 2016. His licence to appraise real estate expired in 1997.

Reuters