New details have emerged about the Yellowstone National Park shooter, who federal authorities say attempted to carry out a Fourth of July terrorist attack when he opened fire on a dining facility filled with 200 people last summer. Newly released court documents reveal that 28-year-old Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner had a history of sharing white supremacist views online and with family members. According to those asset forfeiture court filings, Fussner was an active member of the Vanguard News Network, “a website forum dedicated to white supremacist and antisemitic views” that the Southern Poverty Law Center identified as a neo-Nazi hate group. Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner was killed after attempting a mass shooting. (Photo: Facebook/Yellowstone National Park ) In March 2024, Fussner took to the forum to discuss his depression and loneliness with other Vanguard members, stating that he was “on the precipice of a breakdown” and reiterating “his belief in and desire for a white nation, while lamenting his inability to connect with others,” court documents state. “This year may well be my last,” he wrote in the March 2024 post. “I do not believe in suicide, but I do believe in a last stand.” Fussner, who is originally from Florida, also wrote that he wanted to become employed in a “nice white mountainous area or state park” to expose himself to different white people, adding, “If I am still unable to make something of that experience, look forward to someday seeing me in the news.” Just days before the July 4 attack, he texted his brother complaining about his mental health, his problems with women, and the Yellowstone area. Using slurs to describe the area’s racial makeup from his perspective, he texted that the community is “80% J1s. 50% ch**k/30% spic … Whites seemed to have disappeared … Very odd hellscape I’m in.” After sharing that he “can’t do it anymore,” he told his brother of his plans to carry out an Independence Day shooting in an area where there are fireworks because “crowds there will be easy targets.” The night of July 3, he used a knife and a handgun to hold a woman who rejected his romantic advances hostage in her dorm room for two hours, using that time to rant about “immigrants, African Americans, and Jews, and how they were negatively affecting the country,” court documents state. While raving about those racist ideations, he shared his plans to carry out a mass shooting at the employee dining room in Canyon Lodge and the fireworks display at West Yellowstone, Montana. He said he “had to do something major because politics in America are messed up, and law enforcement was going to have to kill him.” Court documents say that he also shared that he thought “all blacks were evil and reported hating Jews.” Fussner left the dorm room shortly after the woman’s roommate showed up. Once he left, the victim called security, informing them of the hostage situation and Fussner’s plans to carry out a mass shooting. National Park Service rangers spent that night searching for Fussner but were unsuccessful. They continued their search the next morning and posted guards at the Canyon Lodge dining facility. At 8:05 a.m. on July 4, the rangers spotted Fussner approaching the dining hall armed with an assault rifle. After ordering him to stop, Fussner aimed his weapon at a ranger and fired, leading to an exchange of gunfire that resulted in Fussner’s death. One ranger was shot in his right foot and had to undergo several surgeries that resulted in the loss of multiple toes. No one else was hurt. Authorities discovered several guns, magazines, and ammunition in Fussner’s Nissan Rogue, which was supposed to be his getaway vehicle and was parked a short distance away from the dining facility. That car and those weapons were seized by the federal government. ‘All Blacks Were Evil’: Man Who Attempted to Shoot Up National Park Facility with 200 People Had a ‘Desire for a White Nation,’ Court Docs Reveal