King called Willem Van Spronsen "a martyr."
"Willem Van Spronsen just became the first martyr attempting to liberate imprisoned refugees from a for-profit detention center in Tacoma, Washington. His hero was John Brown—the white abolitionist who led the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. This is what our country has come to," King wrote on Twitter, sharing a picture of the alleged terrorist and two photos honoring him.
King then shared pictures showing a lengthy manifesto that Van Spronsen reportedly left before his attack on the facility.
"We are told that this is the final letter of Willem Van Spronsen—who was shot and killed by law enforcement as he attempted an attack on a for-profit refugee detention center in Tacoma, Washington. It’s a beautiful, painful, devastating letter. He wasn’t crazy—inaction is," King said.
In the manifesto, Van Spronsen identified himself as a member of Antifa, a far-left extremist groups that openly advocates violence and is rooted in communism.
“This is my clear opportunity to make a difference, I’d be an ingrate to be waiting for a more obvious invitation," Van Spronsen wrote.
Van Spronsen uses the phrase “concentration camps” multiple times to refer to detention facilities holding illegal immigrants. The term, which since World War II has referred to extermination camps run by the Nazis, was recently used by Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to describe the facilities.
King later shared a picture showing the outside of the Tacoma facility, writing: "This is where Willem was murdered this weekend. His actions will be called terrorism and people will call him crazy, but neither are true. His mind was very clear."
King later deleted the tweets without explaining why.
King's comments came as other groups and individuals praised the alleged terrorist.