Vancouver church linked to man arrested for anti-LGBTQ hate crime

A Washington man arrested for repeatedly expressing his desire to kill LGBTQ people tied his beliefs to a fundamentalist sect of Christianity and frequented a church in Vancouver that shares similar views.

Multiple law enforcement agencies Friday arrested Tyler Dinsmoore, a 27-year-old Navy veteran living in Oak Harbor, Washington, after he drew several complaints of making unprovoked, homophobic threats this month.

According to police, Dinsmoore had recently shouted “it used to be legal to kill gay people” at a neighbor and had posted to social media a picture of a scheduled pride event in Anacortes, Washington, and asked people to “talk me out of it.”

“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.

Dinsmoore faces a hate crime charge, according to court documents filed in Island County Superior Court.

According to his Gab profile, Dinsmoore found fellowship in condemning the LGBTQ community at Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Vancouver. Dinsmoore’s connection was first reported by Daily Kos.