This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
The man who opened fire in Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park over the Fourth of July had a history of antisemitism and white supremacy, according to documents filed in federal court Jan. 3.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming alleges 28-year-old Xanterra employee Samson Fussner planned “to carry out a terrorist attack against the United States, its citizens and their property.”
The office also said that Fussner shared his views with a woman he had held hostage prior to the shootout with park rangers. According to the court filing, he made inflammatory comments about immigrants, African Americans and Jews, including how they were negatively affecting the country. The office also said Fussner expressed his plan to carry out mass shootings at the employee dining room at Canyon Lodge and at the fireworks display in West Yellowstone, Montana.
The office claims Fussner had a history of expressing white supremecist and antisemitic views, and that he was an active member of the Vanguard News Network, a neo-Nazi website and forum that the office describes as “dedicated to white supremacist and antisemitic viewpoints.”
In a post to the site made in March 2024, Fussner wrote, “This year may well be my last. I do not believe in suicide, but I do believe in a last stand.” He wrote about wanting to get a seasonal job in a “nice white mountainous area or state park” and his desire for a white nation, while lamenting his loneliness and inability to connect with others.
In text messages to his brother leading up to July 4, Fussner wrote about his mental health and complained about problems with women. He also complained “about Yellowstone becoming, ‘80% J1s. [referring to nonimmigrant visas for individuals in work- and study-based exchange programs], 50% chink/30% spic … Whites seem to have disappeared … Very odd hellscape im in,’” according to the filing.
The office said Fussner outlined ideas about shooting during a fireworks show, saying crowds there would be easy targets.
Rangers on July 4 found Fussner’s vehicle in the Canyon Lodge parking lot with a loaded pistol, a loaded magazine for a Glock-type handgun, rifle magazines, multiple high-capacity Glock-style handgun magazines and a 12 gauge shotgun inside. When they encountered Fussner, he was carrying an AR-15 type rifle, later identified as the Anderson Manufacturing AM-15.
The court filing seeks the forfeiture of Fussner’s weapons, ammunition and vehicle.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming told Wyoming Public Radio that the National Park Service rangers who killed the gunman will not be prosecuted and that their investigation is complete.