Benjamin Erickson was reportedly detained as the person of interest after the Brown University shooting in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 13. Both NBC News and Washington Post identified him as the 24-year-old male who authorities had taken in after the shooting that left two dead and eight injured.
While authorities are yet to release information about Erickson, given that he’s just been detained and not arrested in suspicion of the shooting, a lot of information has emerged about the man from Wisconsin. Among them is his party affiliation, which is listed as ‘statehood’.
Erickson’s residence as of 2024 is an apartment in Washington DC and he was registered to vote in the district as recently as 2023, as per NBC News. The publication also noted his party affiliation, adding that in Wisconsin, Erickson had ‘military’ listed under his voter information.
This has generated a fair amount of buzz on social media. “Benjamin W Erickson listed his political party as Stateshood? Whatever that means,” one account noted. Another added, “Registered to vote in 2023 under ‘statehood’.”
Does Benjamin Erickson support DC Statehood Green Party?
It is not clear if Erickson supports the DC Statehood Green Party, though his party affiliation is listed as ‘statehood’. The party first qualified for ballot in status in 1998 and as per their website, they’ve drawn voters more than five times its membership in previous election cycles.
Green candidates in DC got more than 80,000 votes across four major races in 2012, as per Ballotpedia, which was more than the 56,000 votes that the Republican party managed to bag.
The main issues that guide the party’s direction are: Political democracy, justice and civil rights, ending discrimination, election reform, political structure reform, government performance, fiscal issues, environmental issues, health issues, education, law enforcement and criminal justice, labor, transportation, and, safety net, economy and housing, as per Ballotpedia.