The Aroostook County man who was killed by police late Monday following an hours-long standoff — in which he allegedly shot an officer and a police dog while holding his 4-week-old child captive — appeared to post a video on social media during the ordeal, in which he could be seen holding a rifle with a scope and explaining that he was resisting authorities because he opposed Maine’s abortion and gay rights laws.
Police have said they got into the standoff with Steven Righini, 29, of Portage Lake after a woman reported that he had pushed her into a wall on Monday morning. When they arrived, the woman had left the house but Righini was still inside with their infant child.
“I’m here. My name is Steven Righini. I am a resident of Maine and I had the cops called on me,” he said in the video. “A SWAT team showed up and I am now engaged in a shootout.” At another point, he said, “Now they’re trying to arrest me simply because I do not believe in gay rights and abortion.”
