Claire Taylor

ctaylor@theadvertiser.com

The just-released journal of Grand 16 Theatre shooter John Russel Houser of Phenix City, Alabama, includes chilling entries made in the hours before the shooting, foretelling his own death and the attack he would perpetrate in Lafayette.

On July 23, about 20 minutes into the 7:15 p.m. showing of the movie "Trainwreck," Houser stood up in Room 14 of the theater and opened fire, killing two young women — Jillian Johnson and Mayci Breaux — and wounding nine others before killing himself as police closed in.

Houser's journal, recovered after the shooting by law enforcement officers in a room at a Lafayette Motel 6, was released Wednesday.

It reveals a troubled man dissatisfied with his country and his government, who called himself "radicalized" and believed America and Europe are heading for a collapse that will allow countries like North Korea, China and Russia to rise.

He called himself the Isis the U.S. should be afraid of and wrote about Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at a Charleston, S.C., church on June 17.

Houser wrote critically of black people, women and homosexuals, implying they are inferior to white men, and chastised the media, including FOX News.

"The truth is only known when all are heard," Houser printed on the front of the journal.

Inside, his first entry reads, "America is a filth farm" where liberal policies that "lack logic, morality or financial responsibility" are implemented without a vote of the people.

This makes citizens' blood boil, he wrote.

"If you have not stood against filth, you are now a soft target. No carrot under my nose."

Houser then lists his favorite movies, mostly older films, including "Casablanca," "Dr. Strangelove" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."

Video of Houser minutes before shooting released

Some of his favorite songs included "That's Where the Music Takes Me," "Soldier of Love" and "Superfly," while his favorite groups and artists included the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and Ray Charles.

Later in his journal, as Houser's entries grow more agitated and radical, he wrote that he had watched little television or movies in the past 25 years.

Tucked in between those entries is a page he titled, "Lies of the century." They included:

* Women on average are equal to men mentally and physically

* Men are not the best head of a household

* Blacks on average are mentally equal to whites

* More than .01 percent of the population is born gay

The future, Houser wrote, will see world financial collapse leaving North Korea, Iran, Russia and China on top while billions of people starve. The collapse will lead to a return in the U.S. and Europe of common sense and logic.

The next journal page is titled "Reason for My Actions." It contains two entries: "Just running an errand on the way home" and "I'm going to DizzKneeLand." It's signed, Rusty.

Houser wrote that it's easy to assemble 1 million people for war "but difficult to find one who will stand at home."

"Whatever it takes to turn 'America' around is worth the price."

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Houser, he wrote, was ashamed of almost every memory of his life "except what I see as my 'Direction.' This is what unites people, belief that they will get over the little things, not the knowing decisions."

Ironically, he added, "How absurd and perverted to cause innocents to pay for political objectives ... like the atomic bomb."

The war is not with Islamic fundamentalism but with fundamentalism, and the moral must be allowed to segregate themselves.

"It would be impossible," Houser wrote, "to have enough metal detectors, have a large enough military force, etc. ... to fight the might of right. America must go boldly into reverse. America is in the midst of celebrating filth, and as such they are the enemy."

Perhaps alluding to what would come, Houser wrote, "Nowhere in the U.S. is it safe," adding later, "Soft targets are everywhere. Military, police, etc., designations are not necessary."

"It's Quitin Time" he scribbled at the bottom of one page.

LISTEN: 911 calls from Grand 16 shooting

A "global rearrangement comes soon," Houser wrote. Thousands could have written the same and there are at least 1,000 like him in every state, he added.

A few pages later is the headline "Targets," under which he wrote that he was sure some military personnel killed in service were nice people and "non military/police i.e. anyone is just as good."

The journal entries contain no dates, so it's unclear how close to July 23 these writings were made. At one point, about six pages before the final entry, Houser foretold that he would not be captured alive.

"I do not look forward to my own end, but do not trust myself in captivity. It is possible, but not likely, that I could say something that I do not believe.

"The single thing that has antagonized me most is the effective censorship," Houser wrote. "All of this could have been said without the catastrophe about to occur."

LPD releases radio dispatch audio from Grand 16 shooting

"Yes, it will be said and said 'how senseless,'" he wrote, "But if my act drains the value of the dollar (because it is not based on anything) by creating new expenses (guards, bulletproof glass, etc. at movie theaters) it is for good overall. The U.S. is the enemy of good, of God."

At 4:55 p.m. on July 23, is the first entry that has a time and date attached. Just hours before the attack, Houser wrote, "The danger is not the ISIS of the Middle East, but the ISIS I represent. They may be brought around to compromise, and you may be brought to truth."

Between 5:23 p.m. and 5:44 p.m., he noted he was going to take a shower.

The final page of his journal begins with a July 23 entry at 6:14 p.m.

"No matter how perverted the presentation of these notes, or censorship, the contribution is made. Therefore I leave it all, in hopes of truth, my death all but assured," he wrote.

It is followed by, "6:33: Trainwreck 7:15."

"6:39 My choice is clear for anyone that is a leader. If you see truth you know what is to come."

"6:37 Ronald Reagan couldn't save the U.S. (in my opinion). "But truth can save or destroy it, as it is now becoming clear."

His final entry was at 6:50: "Truth is now the enemy of the 2015 US."

Please be advised, the following document contains strong language, and has not been edited.