A political argument on Facebook led to a 44-year-old Florida man driving to the home of a stranger he’d been arguing with and shooting and wounding him. Now Brian Sebring faces felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed gun. Sebring told the Tampa Bay Times he “just snapped and let primal rage take over” when he left work early on Monday, went home to get his gun and headed to the home of Alex Stephens. Sebring and Stephens, 46, had never met, though they live in the same neighborhood. “I’m not a bad guy,” Sebring told the newspaper, “but I mean, this guy threatened to hurt my family, and I went off the deep end.” Sebring said he’s probably going to see a therapist now because it scares him that “I could lose my temper like that and do something so stupid.”
Stephens was released from the hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds to the thigh and buttocks. He didn’t respond to the Times’ request for an interview.
According to Sebring, a registered Democrat, he responded to post on Facebook by a felon who said he wanted to share his political opinions even though he’d lost his right to vote.
In Florida, as many as 1.5 million former prisoners aren’t allowed to vote due to a ban in the state constitution. But the state’s voters will decide in November whether to alter the current ban, which is also the subject on an ongoing federal lawsuit.
Full Article: Facebook Fight Over Florida Felon Voting Rights Restoration Ends in Shooting.