A self-described Antifa terrorist who was shot dead at a Tacoma, Washington Immigration and Customs Enforcement building left behind a manifesto about his suicide mission to destroy the facility, and it’s clear he was motivated by liberal politicians.
Willem Van Spronsen, 69, arrived at the ICE facility around 4 a.m. Saturday armed with a rifle and incendiary devices, which he ignited and tossed at vehicles and buildings, according to witnesses. Tacoma Police said Spronsen was attempting to ignite a propane tank when officers arrived and reported “shots fired,” the Seattle Times reports.
Minutes later, Van Spronsen was dead.
A manifesto he prepared before the planned attack echoes many of the same phrasing and words used by the most radical liberal members of Congress, including Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s characterization of immigration centers as “concentration camps.”
Here it is
ICE Bomber’s manifesto:
“I am Antifa” pic.twitter.com/B38PyaFc2v
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 14, 2019
“Here it is,” One America News host Jack Posobiec posted to Twitter Sunday. “ICE Bomber’s manifesto: ’I am Antifa.’”
The disturbing two-page document proclaimed “it’s time to take action against the forces of evil.”
“Evil says concentration camps for folks deemed lesser are necessary,” the letter read. “The handmaid of evil says the concentration camps should be more humane. Beware the centrist.”
Van Spronsen cited influences including Don Pritts, John Brown, Emma Goldman, and Howard Zinn, and described himself as “a head in the clouds dreamer” and “joyfully revolutionary.” Van Spronsen was previously arrested at the same ICE facility a year prior for attacking police, and he returned the day before planned immigration raids set for Sunday to make a grand statement, Fox News reports.
“He was ready to end it,” Deb Bartley, Van Spronsen’s friend of two decades, told the Times. “I think this was a suicide. But then he was able to kind of do it in a way that spoke to his political beliefs … I know he went down there knowing he was going to die.”
The manifesto makes clear those political beliefs align with the left fringe of the Democrat party, home of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and others who regularly liken the detainment of people who break into the country illegally with the organized murder of millions in Nazi death camps.
“In these days of fascist hooligans preying on vulnerable people on our streets, in the name of the state or supported and defended by the state, in these days of highly profitable detention/concentration camps and a battle over semantics, in these days of hopelessness, empty pursuit and endless yearning, we are living in visible fascism ascendant,” the document read.
Bartley said she and others received letters in the mail from Van Spronsen “just saying goodbye,” and his intent to go out in a blaze was confirmed in the manifesto.
“I regret that I will miss the rest of the revolution. Thank you for the honor of having been in your midst,” the manifesto read.
“My trans comrades have transformed me, solidifying my conviction that we will be guided to a dreamed of future by those most marginalized among us today,” it continued. “I have dreamed it so clearly that I have no regret for not seeing how it turns out. Thank you for brining me so far along.”
The missive concluded with bizarre notes about how Van Spronsen was radicalized in a civics class at age 13, the style of AR-15 he used in the attack, and a call for others to “ignore the law in arming yourself if you have the luxury.”
“I am antifa,” the document read, “I stand with comrades around the world who act from the love of life in every permutation.”
“Keep the faith! All power to the people!” it read.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office found Van Spronsen died of multiple gunshot wounds and classified the death a homicide. The four officers involved were not injured and were put on paid leave amid a standard investigation, Fox News reports.
At least one local Antifa group is applauding the Van Spronsen’s deadly stunt.
“When our good friend and comrade Willem Van Spronsen took a stand against the fascist detention center in Tacoma, he became a martyr who gave his life to the struggle against fascism,” the group posted to Facebook.
“He was kind and deeply loved by many communities; we cannot let his death go unanswered. Throughout history we idolize figures like John Brown for their courage to take the ultimate stand against oppression, and today we stand strong in our support for yet another martyr in the struggle against fascism,” it continued. “May his death serve as a call to protest and direct action.”
GEO Group, the company that operates the Tacoma ICE facility, issued a statement that alleges a “factually inaccurate portrayal” of detention centers is resulting in “misplaced aggression and a dangerous environment for our employees,” Q13 reports.
And while Seattle Antifa is hoping Van Spronsen’s death will spark more “direct action,” GEO Group wants radical liberals plotting more attacks to understand another important message.
“Violence of any kind against our employees and property will not be tolerated,” the statement read.
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