The 69-year-old armed man killed by Washington state police as he attacked a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center Saturday sent a manifesto to friends the day before the assault in which he wrote "I am Antifa," and was being lionized by members of the leftwing group as a "martyr."

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The group Seattle Antifascist Action described assailant Willem Van Spronsen a "good friend and comrade" (communist) who "took a stand against the fascist detention center in Tacoma" and "became a martyr who gave his life to the struggle against fascism."

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Friends of the 69-year-old have defended him in the attack's aftermath, accusing police of murdering Van Spronsen. Deanne English told KIRO7 she last saw Van Spronsen outside the facility, which was the site of an earlier protest, Friday night.

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Van Spronsen was armed with a rifle and incendiary devices when he launched his assault on the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma around 4 a.m. Saturday, according to the Tacoma Police Department. Employees reported he was throwing 'incendiary devices' and setting vehicles on fire and the first officers on the scene said he was wearing a sachet and carrying flares.

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18