Contrary to sheriff鈥檚 view, New Mexico shooter had ink-marks of racist alt-right
An autopsy report on a New Mexico school shooter provides explicit details that contradict earlier statements by San Juan County Sheriff鈥檚 officials who dismissed suggestions the gunman had racist 鈥渁lt-right鈥� leanings.
The killer, William Atchison, who took his own life after fatally shooting two students in early December, was included in a special 澳彩开奖 report, The Alt-Right is Killing People, released earlier this month.
Immediately after the 澳彩开奖's report was published, the office of San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen said including Atchison actions in the list of examples of alt-right violence was an attempt to 鈥減oliticize鈥� the December 7 shooting at Aztec High School in Aztec, New Mexico.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this has anything to do with political agenda,鈥� Brice Current, the internal affairs captain for San Juan Sheriff鈥檚 Office, told members of the media.
That opinion was further underscored when Jayme Harcrow, a spokeswoman for the sheriff鈥檚 department, told The Associated Press the sheriff鈥檚 office hadn鈥檛 found any evidence tying Atchison鈥檚 motivations to the alt-right.
While the autopsy report isn鈥檛 mandated to address the shooter鈥檚 motivation, it does suggest he was intrigued or interested in racism and alt-right issues to the point of putting semi-permanent marks on his body.
The report, authored by Dr. Lauren E. Dvorscak, a medical investigator and assistant professor of pathology at the University of New Mexico, says the shooter had 鈥渇aint ink markings鈥� of a neo-Nazi 鈥淪S鈥� lightning bolt on his left leg.
Atchison鈥檚 body also bore another ink marking: a Nazi swastika.
What鈥檚 more, the man who took the life of two young people 鈥� both of Latino ancestry 鈥� had an inscription above the left knee that said, 鈥淏UILD WALL,鈥� the autopsy report discloses.
That body inking certainly would appear to be a reference to Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥淏uild the Wall鈥� drumbeat 鈥� a mantra that gave spiritous rise to the alt-right and white nationalist movements, precipitating several instances of violence in recent months.
A fourth marking on the shooter鈥檚 body was 鈥淎MOG,鈥� which likely may be a vernacular reference to Alpha Male of Group 鈥� 鈥渁 guy that everyone thinks is聽cool and is聽always wants to be the social center.鈥� Male dominance and misogyny are frequent components of the alt-right movement.
The sheriff鈥檚 department hasn鈥檛 made a public comment about the autopsy report.
In most cases, detectives or investigators attend autopsies in cases of violent or suspicious deaths. If that was the case in the Atchison autopsy, conducted two days after the deadly shooting, the San Juan County Sheriff鈥檚 Office should have known about the racist markings on Atchison鈥檚 body when they made their comments this month.
Harcrow, the spokeswoman for the San Juan sheriff, did not return a call from Hatewatch seeking comment on the autopsy report or clarification.
Meanwhile, various media outlets have reported the shooter鈥檚 online activities included posting 鈥減ro-Hitler and pro-Trump鈥� comments on alt-right forums and white nationalist websites, including the virulently antisemitic 鈥淒aily Stormer鈥� site.
Latino and Hispanic civil rights organizations in New Mexico did not immediately respond to requests for comments about the autopsy findings.聽
However, one spokeswoman said San Juan County Sheriff Christesen is a pro-gun supporter of Trump鈥檚 hardline on border issues. Christesen recently came under criticism for his Facebook comments supporting Trump鈥檚 reference to 鈥渟hithole鈥� countries.
