Louisiana Gunman Was Right-Wing Radical
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The gunman who killed three people, including himself, was a right-wing radical who appeared on shows to debate his views.
In the early `90s, he was a regular guest on a local call-in television show where he’d be the conservative Republican pitted against a Democrat to debate issues. The host, Calvin Floyd, said [John Russell] Houser had radical opinions that included advocating violence against abortion providers, keeping women out of the workplace and fearing a military takeover of civilian government.
“He made a lot of wild accusations,” said Floyd, who hosted the show on WLTZ-TV in Columbus for more than two decades. “He could make the phones ring.”
Yet Houser had a dark side that went way beyond talk. In 1989, court records say, he was accused of hiring someone to burn down a Columbus lawyer’s law office. A woman and her father say he virtually destroyed a foreclosed home he was being evicted from in 2014 after they bought it. His wife and other relatives filed papers accusing him of domestic violence in 2008.
In Lafayette, Louisiana, police said Houser stood up during a showing of the movie “Trainwreck” Thursday night and started shooting without a word. Two people were killed and nine were injured; authorities said Houser shot himself to death as officers pursued him in the theater.
“I wasn’t a bit shocked that it happened,” Floyd said. “As many times as I had him on it was obvious he had a screw loose.”
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