LAX Shooter

For John, BLUF:  Reporters are sometimes sloppy thinkers.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From the web site Mediaite we have a report by Mr Noah Rothman:

NBC News reporter Pete Williams identified the suspect in Friday’s LAX shooting as 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia who, according to authorities, had literature on him that suggests “strong anti-government views.”  Williams noted, however, that NBC News could not confirm that Ciancia was in any federal or state database or that he had been listed as a potential violent anti-government threat.

Williams reported that Ciancia was born in 1990 and is an American citizen.  The motive for why he shot multiple people at the Los Angeles airport, killing one, remains unconfirmed.

“We’re told, that he had strong anti-government views,” Williams reported.  “That’s based on some written material that we’re told he was carrying, that they found on him after he was shot by L.A. airport police.”

Williams noted that the shooter may have had some connection with the Transportation Safety Administration and had targeted TSA agents as his victims.

“So, it would seem to be a combination of anti-government views and some kind of grudge against the TSA,” Williams said of the shooter’s motivation.

My sense had been that the shooter at LAX, Mr Paul Ciancia, was emotionally disturbed and talking suicide.

Are we to gather from Reporter Pete Williams that there is a link between anti-government views and mental illness?  And which way does it go?  Are the mentally ill inherently anti-government?  Or are those who are anti-government inherently mentally ill?♠

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  This second version conforms closely to this Soviet practice of placing people in mental hospitals for "philosophical intoxication" and for religious belief.