Matthew Shepard’s mother has stark warning for Americans about Donald Trump’s politics
By Will Stroude
As the most controversial election in modern US history draws ever nearer, the mother of Matthew Shepard has issued a stark warning to Americans about the dangerous politics of hatred espoused by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
In a new ad released by the pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC Priorities USA, Judy Shepard, whose son Matt was brutally beaten, tortured and left to die in rural Wyoming in 1998 aged just 21, asks US citizens to reject the racist, sexist, and homophobic campaign of the utterly repugnant businessman and reality TV star.
“I’ve seen what can happen as the result of hate,” Judy says in the video, which was released just days after the 18th anniversary of her son’s death last week (October 12).
“My son Matt was murderer in Laramie Wyoming in 1998. He was befriended by two men in a bar who pretended to be gay. They offered him a ride home and when he was in their car, they robbed him and beat him.
“They drove Matt out to the prairie and tied him to a split-rail fence, then beat him some more and left him for dead.”
She continues: “In the aftermath of Matt’s death, my family saw the best of America in the love and support we were shown. So when I see the hate that Donald Trump has brought to his campaign for president, it terrifies me.”
Judy, who along with husband Dennis founded The Matthew Shepard Foundation following their son’s tragic violent death, adds: “Words have an influences. Violence causes pain. Hate can rip us apart.
“I know what can happen as a result of hate, and Donald Trump should never be our president.”
Watch the heart-wrenching video below:
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