NEWS

US Capitol shooting suspect was committed in 2005

Natalie Neysa Alund, and Holly Meyer
The Tennessean
Larry Russell Dawson

Nashville-area native Larry Russell Dawson, who authorities shot after they say he brandished a weapon and forced a lockdown at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on Monday, was committed to a mental institution in 2005 after repeatedly writing harassing letters to a teenage girl whom he said God had chosen to be his wife, court records show.

A judge ordered him committed to the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute in Nashville after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2003 harassment case. On at least two occasions he was accused of sending inappropriate letters to a teenage girl who he apparently became obsessed with, the court records show.

In the March 2005 commitment order, Williamson County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Bivins wrote that Dawson was "substantially likely" to be a danger to himself or others if he was not treated. It was not immediately known how long he was committed.

In one letter, her refers to himself as "Prophet Larry Dawson" and says that the girl has been chosen to be his wife, and that he wants her to bear his child, according to an affidavit written by Franklin Police Detective Charles Kirby.

Mugshot of Larry Russell Dawson after his 2003 arrest in Williamson County.

Tennessee man charged with assault at Capitol

In the letter, Dawson repeatedly referred to following "a special plan that God had for their life and that she must not go 'outside the plan' or the 'real trouble would start,' " according to the affidavit.

"God has inspired me and moved me to write this letter," he wrote in another letter, promising the girl wealth, beauty and a successful future should she agree to marry him. "God has chosen you to have a baby for him, and this child shall be a sign and wonder for this time ... I am your chosen husband to be by God. Prophet Larry Dawson. And I hope I won't have to fight for you, but I am prepared if I need too!"

Dawson, a onetime funeral director who lost his license and a self-proclaimed church pastor who launched a fundraising campaign in the name of raising the federal minimum wage, also previously worked as a Williamson County school bus driver until he was fired for harassing the girl.

In one letter, Dawson told the girl God revealed to him that he knew he would lose his job before he gave her the letter, and that he planned to sue the Williamson County School district.

Mugshot of Larry Russell Dawson following a 2004 arrest.

At the end of the letter, he wrote that a movie would be made of their "biblical history."

Dawson, who is 66 and lives in Antioch, sent the 2003 letter to the girl less than a month after a court-issued order instructing him to stay away from the girl because of a similar order that had expired.

The teen wasn't the only person Dawson has been accused of sending harassing letters to in the past.

According to a Franklin Police Department incident report, he mailed harassing letters in April 2001 to two Williamson County Schools employees — a man and a woman — after he was let go from the district. One letter contained comments that were perceived as threatening, the report states, and police subsequently arrested Dawson on an intimidation charge.

Dawson also was prohibited by the state from possessing a gun — a move that authorities said stems from the judge finding him not guilty by reason of insanity.

On Tuesday U.S. Capitol Police charged Dawson with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed.

U.S. Capitol shooting: Antioch suspect has troubled legal past

He remains in critical but stable condition after police shot him at a checkpoint at the visitor center, an underground gateway into the Capitol building. Dawson will be brought to Washington, D.C., Superior Court after he is released from the hospital, police said. His vehicle will be searched after police obtain a search warrant.

Dawson entered the visitor center at 2:39 p.m. Monday and allegedly displayed the weapon during a routine screening process, police said. An officer shot him.

The Capitol complex was locked down for about an hour after the incident. Witnesses described a scary situation where those near the building were told to run away as fast as they could, and those inside were told to remain in place in secure rooms. A female bystander suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene, police said. No officers were injured.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072 and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund. Holly Meyer at 615-259-8241 and follow her on Twitter @hollyameyer.

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