(LifeSiteNews) — An Alabama man who drove across the country with lethal weapons in tow to threaten priests at their Norbertine abbey has been arrested.
A 38 year-old man who referred to himself as the “Angel of Death” packed high capacity magazines of ammunition, brass knuckles, knives, and body armor as he drove about 2,000 miles to St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, California.
Joshua Michael Richardson had first threatened the Norbertine priests by email, calling himself in his message the “rider of the pale horse,” CBS News reported, a reference to the fourth and last horseman of the Apocalypse in Scripture.
He targeted the church because it is one of the few in the country that continues to celebrate Michaelmas, the feast of St. Michael, his threatening email to the priests indicated.
Richardson apparently has strong anti-Catholic sentiment, as shown by a video in which he castigates Catholics for allegedly “worshipping” the Blessed Virgin Mary. Catholics do not worship Her, but honor Her as the Mother of God and the holiest of His creatures.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department told local news outlets Richardson then visited the Abbey to threaten the priests in person. “He was seen in the Church, he was sitting in the pew,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told CBS. After a service there ended, he entered a private area where he spoke with someone at the church and was then “walked back purposefully” in order to “get him on surveillance.”
The Alabama man “not only visited St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, but he visited a St. Michael’s … up in Los Angeles,” Spitzer said. “That scares me immeasurably.”
Richardson has been charged with criminal threats and possession of a deadly weapon — both felonies. The felony complaint filed against him states that his plans thus far have been “carried out with planning, sophistication, and professionalism.”
According to Spitzer, prosecutors will argue that Richardson should be forbidden from posting bail. He reportedly faces more than five years in prison if convicted.
“The walls of our churches are not just symbols of sanctuary; they represent the most sacred places of worship and of peace,” said Spitzer. “No one should have to worship in fear that a stranger would walk through the door with the intent to carry out their own day of judgment and determine who lives and who dies. A threat on one house of worship is an attack on every place of worship, and we refuse to allow threats and terror dissuade any person from practicing their faith without fear.”
St. Michael’s Abbey currently consists of over 60 priests and over 40 seminarians. In addition to offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (in Latin on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays), its Norbertines daily pray the Divine Office and adore the Blessed Sacrament, and run the Archangel Institute, a faith formation program, as well as give retreats.
Father James Altman, who came to prominence for warning voters that they cannot vote Democrat and be Catholic, told LifeSiteNews the Norbertines at St. Michael’s, unlike in some other places across the country, are “incredibly solid.”
Fr. Altman said that Richardson is “certainly in league with Satan.”
The abbey publishes talks on the spiritual life on its YouTube channel.
