Matt Shea

Northwest News Network's Brandon Hollingsworth reports on concerns being raised over Matt Shea's presence in Poland / Runtime - 1:09By Brandon…

It’s long been known in eastern Washington that Matt Shea is not your typical politician. Now, he won’t be on the ballot for the upcoming August primary. The 4 p.m. candidate filing deadline on Friday came and went with no sign of Shea.

For the second time in a month, opponents of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s extended “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order – many of them openly carrying firearms – rallied at the state Capitol Saturday in an event that brought together sign-waving citizens, conservative state legislators, Republican and Libertarian candidates for public office and members of far-right groups.

A state legislator in North Idaho is using her official government newsletter to urge constituents to defy Gov. Brad Little’s order to stay home in face of the coronavirus pandemic. Rep. Heather Scott, a Republican who represents the Blanchard area, sent the newsletter Thursday morning. It was titled, in part, “the virus that tried to kill the Constitution.”

Matt Marshall registered Washington Three Percent as a nonprofit corporation — a move copied by groups in other states. His next step was even bolder: He ran for a spot on the Eatonville school board, pledging to represent conservative values. Headlines portrayed him as a danger. Then, Marshall won. He's now running for the state legislature.

Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, a Spokane Valley Republican, has been accused of participating in an act of domestic terrorism prompting top elected officials to call on him to resign. But Friday, Shea found strong support at a gun rights rally at the state Capitol.

In an exclusive interview with public radio's Northwest News Network, an upbeat Shea -- "I'm doing great" -- said he plans to fight any effort to expel him from the House chamber and called the allegations against him a "flat out lie."

When Washington lawmakers convene a short, election year session on Monday, Jan. 13 they’ll confront a range of issues from homelessness to gun control to whether to expel state Rep. Matt Shea.

As 2019 comes to a close, and 2020 is upon us, we look back on a few Northwest stories we’ve discussed this year. Indeed, there are many, and many worth highlighting again. Here are three we’d like to revisit as we say goodbye to 2019.

Buried in the report are a number of details and revelations that give readers an inside look at how Rep. Matt Shea reportedly operates behind the scenes. It’s a world of code names, encrypted communications and military-style directives.