MANSFIELD — Shawn Christy had been running from federal authorities for three months before he became overnight fugitive news in Richland County on Sunday.
But his run-ins with authorities, and authority figures, far preceded his wreck and/or abandonment of a stolen work truck along northbound Interstate 71 near the Ohio 13 interchange.
While the FBI’s search for the 26-year-old Pennsylvania native pales in comparison to nationwide hunts for outlaws like Dillinger, Barrow and Kaczynski, authorities would like to handcuff the man who has alleged to have threatened the lives of President Donald Trump, a Pennsylvania prosecutor and various police officers.
That’s why the total reward money is up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of the man accused of threatening to “put a bullet” in Trump’s head.
“Mr. Christy is unpredictable, and he’s been desperate,” Robert Clark of the U.S. Marshals Service told Newsweek for an August profile of Christy.
“He’s shown the willingness to allegedly commit numerous crimes, and that presents a different challenge for us,” Clark said.
The story has generated headlines around the country in print, online and broadcast. If Christy’s goal when this began was to call attention to his ideas, beliefs and convictions, he has succeeded.
DECADE OF UNREST: Christy’s unusual approach to public figures and the law goes back about 10 years, according to the Allentown Morning Call. It began in October 2008 when Christy, then 16, called Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s campaign office and offered to work for the McCain-Palin presidential ticket.
His odd interest in Palin and her family continued beyond the election, resulting in Palin obtaining a temporary protection-from-abuse order against Christy, who actually traveled to Anchorage on Palin’s birthday in February 2011.
According to authorities, Christy simply refused to stop besieging Palin and others with threatening phone calls and e-mails.
In June 2015, Christy was reportedly charged with harassment of a teacher and administrator at the Luzerne County school he attended. In March 2017, Christy was in trouble again after allegedly threatening to kill a local tax collection clerk and bomb her office.
Also in March 2017, Christy escalated his behavior and got into a physical altercation with McAdoo (Penn.) Mayor Stephan Holly. Christy was charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and harassment. The suspect said the mayor assaulted him. Christy was charged in October 2017 for making a high number of calls to police.
Christy was arrested in Texas in February on a warrant for failure to appear at a Pennsylvania court over the tax collector charges. In April, he pleaded guilty to terrorist threats from that case and was sentenced to 12 months probation and an anger management class.
His public criticism of Trump began in May, apparently driven by Trump’s support of a gun bill. Also in May, Christy threatened with “full lethal force” any law enforcement officers who may attempt to detain him. In June, an arrest warrant was issued after Christy failed to show up for jury selection in the mayoral assault case.
Christy’s Facebook page soon had the following comment: “Keep it up (prosecutor) Morganelli. I promise I’ll put a bullet in your head as soon as I put one in the head of President Donald J. Trump.”
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Christy on June 19 for threatening the president and others. His flight ensued thereafter, including alleged multiple vehicle thefts, multiple burglaries, gun thefts and even a brief flight across the border into Canada.
That run continued into New York, Canada, West Virginia, Maryland, back into Pennsylvania and then into Ohio on Sunday, where he allegedly left the truck he stole in Pennsylvania just after midnight Saturday.
BUSHMASTER: Christy fashions himself a survivalist, an outdoorsman who can survive off the land — when he isn’t allegedly breaking into places (like Skipper Dippers Dairy Bar & Grill) and stealing food. He likes to wear camo and is considered armed and dangerous. He has a YouTube channel, which he titled “Backwoods Bushcraft and Tactical.”
His channel has four videos, the first of which was posted seven months ago with the title “Checking In.” On the video, Christy says, “I kind of have a lot of survival information, mixed with tactical.” He discusses having expertise in surviving different environments, including deserts, mountains or urban areas.
His most recent video, posted May 21, is titled “MD500 Flyover.” In the video, Christy, somewhere in the woods, makes an obscene hand gesture as a helicopter flies overhead. In the all-caps description of the video, Christy wrote, “YOU CAN’T BE A REAL OUTLAW BUSHCRAFTER UNLESS YOU DRAW CONSTANT POLICE ATTENTION WHEN YOU DO WHAT YOU DO!”
Christy’s Facebook page was last updated on June 15. But another Facebook site, “Shawn Christy Political Prisoner,” is active and generating a great deal of comment, including those who support his efforts.
As of Monday evening, Christy had not been apprehended by law enforcement, despite the best efforts of local and state authorities, including a helicopter and drones, as well as FBI officers, U.S. Marshals and the Secret Service.
His parents have pleaded with him to turn himself into authorities, a decision Christy has apparently not yet made. He remains on the move, or hunkered down, waiting for the search to cool, and a chance to escape quietly again.
As Christy said in a May post on Facebook, “This is my home, these are my woods. My favorite sport in the world is hunting a hunter.”
