A Washington man who made death threats against LGBTQ people has been tied to a fundamentalist church in Vancouver, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
Tyler Dinsmoore, a 27-year-old Navy veteran, was arrested by multiple law enforcement agencies last week and charged with a hate crime. Police say Dinsmoore recently shouted, “It used to be legal to kill gay people” at a neighbor.
“People keep accusing me of homophobia. Damn right. God says they have one end: to be taken and destroyed,” Dinsmoore wrote in an April 28 post on Gab.
He is also accused of posting that he “might not make it through this f** month,” and he “was 9mm away from fedposting two f****** at home depot yesterday.”
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His Gab profile says Dinsmoore found that Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Vancouver shared his views about LGBTQ people.
The church’s pastor, Aaron Thompson, denied that Dinsmoore frequented his church but admitted that he had attended a "soulwinning excursion" over Memorial Day weekend.
“He was partnered with me and another person” for a couple hours, Thompson said. “We didn’t really talk much at all.”
“He was just really excited to see people get baptized,” Thompson added.
When asked about the church’s beliefs regarding LGBTQ people, Thompson said: “We don’t allow them in our church, or child molesters, because we think they’re dangerous.”
“As far as us doing any violence, against anybody for any reason, unless it’s a self-defense reason, we’re not for that,” Thompson said. “I know today that’s controversial, but it’s just been controversial the last 20 years or something.”
Dinsmoore's next hearing is June 27, and he is being ordered to surrender his firearms. He reportedly owned several semi-automatic rifles and held a concealed-carry license.