During a Monday shootout with state troopers, 29-year-old farmer and Trump supporter Steven Righini held his four-week-old daughter hostage, barricaded in his Portage Lake, Maine home while publishing social media posts about “pedos” and “transgenders harassing” him.

Righini, who regularly shared anti-LGBTQ+ messages on X, murdered a police dog named Preacher and injured an officer while trying to escape arrest. Troopers shot and killed Righini soon after.

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Troopers came to Righini’s rural home after receiving reports of a domestic dispute during which he allegedly fought the 18-year-old mother of his child and pushed her against a wall. When troopers arrived, they found the woman outdoors. When they convinced Righini to come outside and tried to arrest him, he pulled a gun from his waistband and began shooting at officers before returning indoors, WMTW reported.

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As the troopers’ patrol car backed out of his driveway, Righini reportedly fired upon the vehicle, hitting Aroostook County Sheriff’s Deputy Shane Campbell in the shoulder. He has since been released from the hospital.

Righini remained in his house for hours as troopers tried to convince him to come outside. In the meanwhile, Righini made several social media posts including a video claiming, “Now they’re trying to arrest me simply because I do not believe in gay rights and abortion.”

“I had the cops called on me. A SWAT team showed up, and I’m now engaged in a shootout,” Righini said in the video, adding, “My state has been the number one abortion and gay rights state in the entire country and I’ve been segregated against for my beliefs.”

“I assure you that I am not the aggressor here,” he continued. “They tried to arrest me, they tried to taze me, they are trying to make me a criminal… I’m sorry this had to happen, I really am. But I’m backed into a corner with my political beliefs.”

He then said that he hadn’t been able to find a job in over a year and had struggled “his entire life… fighting Democrats and trying to stand up for my beliefs.”

“Let me ask you: If you’re a law enforcement officer, why do you support the COVID vaccines? Why do you support abortion? Why do you support what isn’t morally right? How are you fighting for a state system that protects illegal immigrants and pedophiles? Please explain this to me.”

He then asked why it’s legal to “murder” babies in his state “up until the moment of conception.”

Righini likely misspoke since conception refers to the moment when a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell, something that occurs anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes after unprotected sexual intercourse. In Maine, abortion is legal up to the point of fetal viability, which is generally around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

“That’s why I’m fighting. I’m fighting for the babies, I’m fighting for the unborn, and I’m fighting for righteousness and Christianity to be restored in this country.”

He then declared that “Christ is king” told all of those close to him that he loved them, adding, “I’m sorry it had to end this way.”

He also published several text posts on X, including one in which he wrote, “Years of transgenders harassing me and abortion being essentially a sacrament in my state . I have to stand my ground and fight for my religion here. Christ is Lord i am sorry.”

Righini then tried to escape in a car, but officers disabled his vehicle. While fleeing on foot, he shot and killed a 4-year-old trooper dog named Preacher. Righini then began firing at officers who shot and killed him.

In a January 28 post, Righini wrote, “i want to thank @realDonaldTrump for protecting children against mutilation and sexual deviancy. Unfortunately the damage cannot be reversed for the children who were coerced into ‘changing their sex’ so let those demons be a grim reminder to say NEVER AGAIN!”

The post seemingly referred to Trump’s executive order seeking to ban gender-affirming care for trans people under the age of 19. Christian conservatives have previously referred to advocates of such care as “Satanic” and claimed that they “groom” children to undergo gender-affirming surgeries even though such procedures are almost never performed on minors.

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