Meet Loren Culp: Seattle Times Profile Shows His Extreme and Dangerous Conservative Views

On issue after issue, Culp takes stances far out of the mainstream that put Washington voters at risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | September 21, 2020  

SEATTLE — Days after being caught spreading a conspiracy theory about Washington fires, this weekend’s profile of Loren Culp in the Seattle Times shows again his extreme views on issue after issue. It’s this simple: Culp is wildly out of touch with the average Washington voter. Culp’s far-right views on subjects from gun safety to the COVID response and mask wearing put Washingtonians at risk, and this profile makes it clear that Culp is proud to hold these positions, and to ignore the facts and science around them. 

On gun safety

Culp claims that the gun safety measure Initiative 1639, approved by 59% of the voters and upheld by the court system, is unconstitutional, and that “lawyers and judges don’t know the U.S. Constitution because it is not routinely taught in law schools,” which is an obvious lie. Culp further said “I don’t see where the government gets the power to ban any attachment to my car, or an attachment to my rifle.” 

On police reform:  

Culp denies that systemic racism is a problem in American policing. On the case of Jacob Blake, the Black unarmed man recently shot and paralyzed by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Culp said “I would have shot that person.” 

On extreme conservative groups:

The profile highlights how Culp’s campaign paid thousands of dollars to Peter Diaz, the founder of a right wing militia that sends armed vigilantes to counterprotest and escalate violence at Black Lives Matter events and rallies, and how Culp associates with the constitutional sheriffs movement that’s based on the far-right and anti-Semitic “posse comitatus” ideology.

On child-sexual assault case

The story covers how Culp was accused in a lawsuit of mismanaging a child sexual abuse investigation, and how Culp defended the abuser even after the man eventually pled guilty: 

The lawsuit, filed in 2017, alleges Culp and two other law enforcement officers failed to properly investigate and report allegations in 2013 from a 17-year-old girl who said a male relative had been sexually molesting her since she was 5.

The lawsuit states Culp and a Ferry County deputy did not believe the victim and even sought to intimidate her with the threat of a false-claims charge.

Rebuffed in Republic, the victim brought her allegations to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, which quickly found supporting witnesses and arrested the relative, Roy A. Moore Jr., in 2014. He pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree child molestation and was sentenced to a minimum of 67 months in prison.

Culp has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was not the lead investigator on the case. He also has insisted Moore’s guilty plea does not mean that he actually committed the crimes.

“Loren Culp has far more in common with Matt Shea than your average Washington voter,” said Tina Podlodowski, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party. “Voters here want proven, thoughtful leaders who will listen to science and the facts when making decisions. If it wasn’t clear already, Culp’s own words in this profile make it clear how out-of-touch he is from Washington voters and how he’ll be decisively rejected by voters in December.”