ELECTRONIC TRAIL 
 
 The Lafayette theater shooter was a frequent online commenter, with numerous posts on immigration, free speech, and his fears about America’s future. 
 
 The man named by police as the shooter inside a Lafayette, Louisiana, movie theater appears to have been a Tea Party sympathizer with strong views on race, immigration, and the future of America. 
 
 John Russell Houser, most recently of Phenix City, Alabama, was a frequent poster in online forums on those topics. He appears to have gone by the nickname Rusty Houser—a name tied to him by an email address listed on a LinkedIn page of the man wanted in the shooting. 
 
 Some news reports identify Houser spelling Russell as Russel. On his LinkedIn page, however, Houser identifies past self-employment as “John Russell Houser.” 
 
 A Tea Party Nation page was registered to that name in 2013. He said he was from Phenix, Alabama, but does not appear to have been very active on the site. 
 
 
 
 On PoliticalForum.com, a user identifying as Rusty Houser boasted about posting with his real name and that he “say(s) what he thinks.” In another foreboding post on the site in 2013, he welcomed a newcomer to the forum: “Jump in the deep end, I don’t think we have that long.” 
 
 
 
 A Debate Politics page registered to Rusty Houser lists his political viewings as “very conservative.” Among his interests, Houser lists the Greek nationalist party Golden Dawn. It also identifies him as having a hometown of Phenix City, Alabama—and having a JD and CPA certification, just like on the John Russell Houser LinkedIn profile. 
 
 Houser’s posts on the site were made in early 2014. In one about Golden Dawn, he called the group “a legitimate effort to solve problems.” “The leaders of the group are in fact leaders,” he wrote. “Intelligent, well spoken, and exercising good faith.” 
 
 
 
 "Type in WHITE POWER GROUPS and you get mag articles about their never ending claims of racism, and no information of how to find White power groups you might want to join," he continued. 
 
 
 
 A poster responded: “Evidently you’re from Alabama. You don’t need the Internet to find a white power group. Just stick a sheet over your head and run around in traffic. Somethings bound to hit you.” 
 
 In multiple posts, Houser seemed obsessed with comparing America to Iran. On January 18, 2014, he posted a screed about censorship in response to a thread on coverage of Chris Christie’s scandals versus those of President Obama. “The US heavily censors. Why wouldn’t they twist. You say there is no censorship?” he wrote. ”Tell me how I can read any of the 30 newspapers printed in Iran. How to find White rights groups on the internet. What your computer gives you when you type AMERICA CENSORS INTERNET, or censors anything.” 
 
 Another post on that site echoes distrust of mainstream media. Houser implied that he hopes young people “will not watch any source of ‘news.’” 
 
 
 
 Yet Houser appeared on a local TV show many times in the early 1990s. He boasted on LinkedIn that he “Invited political controversy on every one of them, and loved every minute of it.” The host told NBC News on Friday morning that Houser was a “radical guy.” “He was on from time to time because he was a very radical person with radical views,” Calvin Floyd said. Floyd answered “no” when asked if he was surprised that Houser is accused of shooting up the Louisiana movie theater. “The association I had with him was for entertainment,” he said. “He was very entertaining. He made for good TV and when it was over, you would leave shaking your head.” 
 
 
 
 On a forum about car parts, Houser described himself as “not brainwashed.” 
 
 
 
 Other details of Houser's past also raise eyebrows. Authorities say he was arrested for arson in Columbus, Georgia, but don't have an exact date. The arson charge meant that Houser was denied a concealed carry permit in 2006. His violent streak continued when he was evicted from his home in 2014. Russell County, Georgia, Sheriff Heath Taylor said that Houser then damaged the Phenix City home, and disconnected the gas line to the fireplace. 
 
 
 
 On a Topix thread, a Rusty Houser commented on an article about a Georgia farm hiring foreigners: “The more hard working people with family values we have, the better. What we need to worry about is those who WILL NOT WORK and have no concept of family. They may largely be identified by race also.” 
 
 
 
 Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the smartest, sharpest takes from The Daily Beast Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from The Daily Beast and across the Web By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason 
 
 He was obsessed with the idea that his rights to free speech were being censored, posting about that on multiple Topix forums. He also lamented the death of a man in the deer-processing business. “Most people over 50 in certain businesses are just as their parents were, rock solid morally,” he wrote. “I am also sorry for what is to come for the other very few moral souls left in the entire US.” 
 
 It quickly got dark. “I am not sorry for the 90% immoral population which will be meeting the same fate. Filth is rampant. That none have stood against it causes me to take rest in the worse than MAD MAX near future which approaches,” he said. ||||| LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — The latest on the shooting at a Lafayette, Louisiana, movie theater (times are local): 
 
 Police tape surrounds the Grand Theatre following a deadly shooting Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Brad Kemp/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Theater goer Jacob Broussard said he was standing in line to go inside the Grand Theatre when a shooting occurred and police responded to the scene Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police surround the Grand Theatre following a deadly shooting Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Brad Kemp/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Lafayette Police Department and Louisiana State Police units block an entrance road following a shooting at The Grand Theatre in Lafayette, La., Thursday, July 23, 2015. (Paul Kieu/The Daily Advertiser... (Associated Press) 
 
 Law enforcement and other emergency personnel respond to the scene of a shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 An officer walks with people near the scene of a shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 An officer stands guard near the scene of a deadly shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 10 a.m. 
 
 The wife and other family members of the Louisiana theater gunman asked for a temporary protective order in 2008 against the man. 
 
 Court documents seeking the order said John Houser, "exhibited extreme erratic behavior and has made ominous as well as disturbing statements." 
 
 The documents said even though he lived in Phenix City, Alabama, he had come to Carroll County, Georgia, where they lived and "perpetrated various acts of family violence." 
 
 Houser "has a history of mental health issues, i.e., manic depression and/or bi-polar disorder" the filing said. 
 
 The filing says Houser's wife, Kellie Maddox Houser, "has become so worried about the defendant's volatile mental state that she has removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence." 
 
 The protection order was at least temporarily granted. 
 
 She filed for divorce in March. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9 a.m. 
 
 The father of a woman in the theater at the time of the shooting says his daughter was sitting with a friend in the same row as the shooter. 
 
 "They heard a couple of pops and didn't know what it was," Randall Mann said. "And then they saw the muzzle flashes, and that's when they knew what was going on. She hit the floor immediately." 
 
 Randall Mann said his daughter Emily and her friend escaped uninjured. 
 
 "She's traumatized," he said. 
 
 The gunman killed two woman and wounded nine other people before he killed himself Thursday night. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:35 a.m. 
 
 Police and court records show the Louisiana movie theater gunman has been arrested and ticketed for several offenses in the past, ranging from arson to speeding. 
 
 Police officials said at a news conference Friday that 59-year-old John Russel Houser's arrests date 10 to 15 years ago or more. Those include charges of arson and selling alcohol to a minor. He had been married once in the past but was not currently married. 
 
 In Alabama, records show Houser had four speeding tickets and one no-seatbelt ticket between 1981 and 2003. 
 
 Alabama court records show Houser filed a small claims court lawsuit in 2004 claiming he was injured when he donated plasma at a Phenix City donation center. He asked for $1,800 to pay his emergency room bill and for a narcotics prescription. The case was settled, according to court records. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:30 a.m. 
 
 A 19-year-old college student who was watching a movie in a theater across the hall from the shooting says he heard three loud pops before the lights came on. 
 
 Jacob Broussard said Friday that he didn't initially know there was a shooting, but as he was evacuating the theater, he saw a woman who had been shot in the leg. 
 
 Authorities say a gunman stood up about 20 minutes into the movie and started firing, killing two women and wounding nine others. 
 
 Broussard, a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, says he felt lucky. 
 
 His father, Shannon Broussard, described gratitude for a teacher who apparently pulled the fire alarm to alert theatergoers that they needed to evacuate the building. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:10 a.m. 
 
 The two victims who were killed when a gunman opened fire in a Lafayette, Louisiana, movie theater have been identified as 33-year-old Jillian Johnson and 21-year-old Mayci Breaux. 
 
 The gunman, who authorities identified as 59-year-old John Russel Houser, killed himself after trying to flee the scene. 
 
 Nine others were wounded in the Thursday night shooting that happened during a showing of the comedy "Trainwreck." 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:20 a.m. 
 
 Authorities are describing the gunman in the movie theater shooting as a 59-year-old man who previously lived in Alabama but is "kind of a drifter" who had been in the Lafayette area since early July. 
 
 Police said Friday that the gunman fired a handgun 13 times inside the theater, killing two people and wounding at least nine others before fatally shooting himself. 
 
 Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said the gunman parked his car near the theater's exit door and was intent on escaping, but couldn't because police arrived so quickly. 
 
 Authorities have not determined a motive. They searched a motel room he had been staying in and found wigs and other disguises. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:15 a.m. 
 
 About a dozen law enforcement personnel were gathered at a Motel 6 in Lafayette early Friday as authorities investigate a shooting at movie theater that killed three people, including the gunman. 
 
 Louisiana State Police spokesman Maj. Doug Cain said the theater investigation led them to a room at the Motel 6. Cain said authorities were investigating whether the shooter had stayed there. He said the bomb squad swept the room before going in as a precaution. 
 
 About a dozen police personnel could be seen outside the motel. At one point, an officer carried out a cardboard box from the room and other officers could be seen knocking on neighboring doors. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:50 a.m. 
 
 The White House says President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting at a Louisiana movie theater that left three people dead, including the gunman. 
 
 Obama was briefed aboard Air Force One on Thursday by Lisa Monaco, his homeland security adviser, while on his way to Africa for a two-nation visit. 
 
 Obama asked his team to keep him updated on the investigation and the status of those wounded in the shooting. 
 
 He also offered his thoughts and prayers to the community of Lafayette, Louisiana, where the movie theater is located, and to the families of those who were killed. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:30 a.m. 
 
 Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters that nine people in total were wounded in the shooting. 
 
 He said at least one of those was in critical condition and being operated on at an area hospital. 
 
 "At this point we have three dead, nine wounded and of the three dead one is definitely the shooter," he said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:30 a.m. 
 
 Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters that based on the investigation so far, they believe the shooter stood up in the theater, started shooting, and then as people started fleeing, he began to leave as well. 
 
 But, investigators believe, he spotted two police officers, who had been out in the parking lot when the shooting happened. The shooter then turned around against the crowd before firing a single shot. 
 
 "It looks like he spotted the officers coming in and he turned around and he went against the crowd, and he fired a single gunshot," he said. "He was seated in the theater just like everybody else." 
 
 "The information we have at this time indicates that he was by himself, sat by himself and the first two people he shot were sitting right in front of him," Craft said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:10 a.m. 
 
 Police say they are checking out suspicious packages inside the Lafayette movie theater where a gunman opened fire Thursday. 
 
 Sgt. Brooks David of the Louisiana State Police said a dog alerted to a backpack and other small items in the theater. 
 
 Three people were killed, including the gunman, and seven injured in the shooting. ||||| (CNN) John Russell "Rusty" Houser methodically shot 11 people in a Lafayette, Louisiana, movie theater using a handgun he legally purchased from an Alabama pawn shop, authorities said Friday. 
 
 Houser stood up Thursday evening in the theater where the comedy "Trainwreck" was showing and fired off one 10-round clip, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said at a press conference. 
 
 "This was slow and methodical," Gov. Bobby Jindal said. "This was not a single burst." 
 
 Houser left the theater through a side door and headed toward his car, a 1995 Lincoln, but saw a police cruiser arrive in the parking lot, Craft said. 
 
 Houser, 59, reloaded his handgun, reentered the theater and fired three more rounds, Craft said. 
 
 Then Houser, a law school graduate with a history of mental problems, fatally shot himself in the head, Craft said. 
 
 "Out of 20 rounds he shot 11 people, but some people suffered multiple wounds," Craft said. "One person was shot four times." 
 
 Two women in the theater were killed and nine were wounded. By Saturday afternoon, three patients remained hospitalized in two area hospitals: two listed in good condition at Lafayette General Medical Center and one in fair condition at Our Lady of Lourdes, according to CNN affiliate KATC 
 
 The gun Houser used, a Hi-Point .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, was legally purchased in February 2014 from a shop in Phenix City, Alabama, Craft said, citing the the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 
 
 Drew Griffin, a senior investigative correspondent for CNN, said it appears Houser was cleared to buy the gun because he didn't have any convictions for serious crimes. 
 
 "He just didn't show up on any of the instant background checks," Griffin said. 
 
 Police don't know why Houser opened fire in the theater or why he came to Lafayette, about 500 miles from his stomping grounds in Georgia and Alabama. 
 
 Besides an uncle who died about 35 years ago, Houser, 59, didn't have any known connection to the city of 120,000. 
 
 He arrived on July 2 or 3 and had been staying in a motel, Craft said. He had just borrowed $5,000 from his mother, said Louisiana State Police Col. Michael Edmonson, but "he needed money." 
 
 Craft said authorities think Houser even went to a church in Lake Charles and obtained food and money. He'd been talking to some locals about opening an oil-change business, the chief said. 
 
 But he never said or did anything that presaged the outbreak of violence. 
 
 Craft said police are researching Houser's movements and reading his journals and his online political blogs, in which he railed against government. There's no indication he had an accomplice, Edmonson said. 
 
 At the press conference in the theater parking lot, Jindal, a presidential candidate, was asked what he would do to stem gun violence. He declined to talk about that, saying, "It hasn't been 24 hours. Let's focus on these families." 
 
 Acted like any other patron, then randomly opened fire 
 
 Houser had a history of legal and mental problems. In 2008, his then-wife took out a restraining order against him, saying she was "fearful of him," police said. 
 
 The one-time political candidate from Columbus, Georgia, spent time that year and the next getting treated for mental health issues. Last year, he was evicted from a house he used to own in Phenix City, Alabama, and returned to vandalize the property, the sheriff there said. 
 
 John Houser 
 
 On Thursday, he bought a ticket for the 7:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. ET) showing of "Trainwreck," a romantic comedy. About 25 people were in the screening room and about 300 total in the multiscreen movie complex. 
 
 Houser settled into the theater's second-to-last row, which was where Randall Mann's 21-year-old daughter was sitting. 
 
 Mann's daughter heard the first pops about 20 minutes in, thinking they could have been firecrackers or part of the movie. But she "knew something was happening" when she saw muzzle flashes, Mann said. She hit the floor and then ran for her life, joining a panicked but controlled, helpful crowd. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Witnesses describe chaotic Louisiana theater shooting Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Witnesses describe chaotic Louisiana theater shooting 01:31 
 
 Another man in the theater told Keifer Sanders, who was watching another movie, that "there was no argument, nothing going on at all. And a guy just stood up and started opening fire." 
 
 "The guy was just kind of at ease, just standing there, just shooting," Sanders said. 
 
 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Law enforcement personnel stand near a police line at The Grand Theatre following a deadly shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Thursday, July 23. The shooter in the Lafayette movie theater shooting died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound according to Louisiana State Police. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, center, speaks with the media near the scene. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Federal investigators arrive. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette Police Department and Louisiana State Police units block an entrance road near the scene of the shooting. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana A Lafayette Police Department vehicle blocks an entrance at The Grand Theatre. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Police tape surrounds the scene. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: Movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana Police and emergency vehicles at the scene of the shooting. Hide Caption 7 of 7 
 
 Jindal recounted the story of two teachers, enjoying the last few days of summer break, caught up in the melee. One jumped over the other , a move that the friend said prevented a bullet from hitting her in the head, according to the governor. It struck her in the leg instead. 
 
 Police said one person played dead once the shooting started. 
 
 Colorado shooting happened 3 years ago 
 
 There are clues suggesting this wasn't a spontaneous act. Searches of Houser's hotel room and vehicle turned up wigs, glasses and other apparent disguises. He also had swapped out the license plate on his car, which would have made it harder to track him if he'd escaped. 
 
 The bloodshed comes three years after a heavily armed James Holmes burst into an Aurora, Colorado, showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" and opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring more than 70 others. 
 
 His story has been in the headlines recently, because of a Colorado jury's decision to convict him on murder charges . The next step for the jurors is to decide whether he will be sentenced to death. 
 
 "It certainly is a coincidence that Colorado had that trial," Craft said. "We're looking at those similarities. We don't have any indication that he watched that or anything." 
 
 Time for recovery, mourning 
 
 JUST WATCHED 2 women killed in Louisiana theater shooting Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 2 women killed in Louisiana theater shooting 01:04 
 
 The violence left the friends and families of two women grieving. 
 
 Jillian Johnson , 33, a Lafayette native who died at a hospital, operated the Red Arrow gift and toy shop in Lafayette. She played the ukulele and guitar for The Figs. 
 
 Mayci Breaux , 21, was killed at the scene. She was a student at Louisiana State University-Eunice and worked at the Coco Eros boutique. Her boyfriend of about three years, Matthew Rodriguez, was shot in the neck and armpit, according to his cousin. 
 
 Afterward, the movie's star, Amy Schumer, tweeted, "My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana."
– The wife of Louisiana shooter John Russel Houser sought a protective order against him in 2008 after he "exhibited extreme erratic behavior" and "made ominous as well as disturbing statements," according to court documents cited by the AP. The filing for the order, which was at least temporarily granted, says that his wife, Kellie Maddox Houser, had "become so worried about the defendant's volatile mental state that she … removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence." The papers also noted John Houser had "a history of mental health issues, i.e., manic depression and/or bi-polar disorder." It wasn't just his wife, who filed for divorce in March, who was concerned. Other family members also joined the court filing, saying that Houser had traveled from Phenix City, Ala., to where they lived in Carroll County, Ga., and "perpetrated various acts of family violence." Meanwhile, using info found on a LinkedIn page that appears to be that of the shooter, the Daily Beast tracked down several online forums and websites where Houser allegedly expressed "strong views on race, immigration, and the future of America," all under the names "John Russell Houser" ("Russell" spelled slightly differently than what's been reported in the media) and "Rusty Houser." "I am also sorry for what is to come for the other very few moral souls left in the entire US," he reportedly wrote in one forum lamenting the murder of a man in the deer-processing business. "I am not sorry for the 90% immoral population which will be meeting the same fate. Filth is rampant. That none have stood against it causes me to take rest in the worse than MAD MAX near future which approaches."