North Carolina’s GOP Candidate for Governor Says ‘Some Folks Need Killing’ in Church Rant About Political Enemies

North Carolina’s GOP Candidate for Governor Says ‘Some Folks Need Killing’ in Church Rant About Political Enemies https://ift.tt/7Z0f6XG

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson called for the extrajudicial killing of people during an address at a church service on June 30

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Mark Robinson in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson called for the extrajudicial killing of people he considered to be enemies of Christian America on Sunday, June 30, reports The New Republic.

“Some folks need killing... It’s a matter of necessity!” Robinson, the current Republican nominee for governor, said in front of church patrons at Lake Church in White Lake, N.C.

During his address, Robinson said, “We now find ourselves struggling with people who have evil intent," per The New Republic. The politician continued to refer to and compare the supposed enemies to the Nazis in World War II. 

“We didn’t argue and capitulate and talk about, ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t fight the Nazis that hard.’ No, they’re bad. Kill them,” Robinson said, adding, “Time to call out, uh, those guys in green and go have them handle it. Or those boys in blue and have them go handle it.”

Robinson did not identify who the “folks” are but added that there are “wicked people doing wicked things, torturing and murdering and raping.” 

“The further we start sliding into making 1776 a distant memory and the tenets of socialism and communism start coming into clearer focus,” he continued. “They’re watching us. They’re listening to us. They’re tracking us. They get mad at you. They cancel you. They dox you. They kick you off social media. They come in and close down your business.”

The church’s pastor, Cameron McGill, defended Robinson’s comments. “Without a doubt, those he deemed worthy of death [were] those seeking to kill us,” McGill told The New Republic, adding Robinson “certainly did not imply the taking of any innocent lives.” 

Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty

Mark Robinson in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.

Related: What to Know About Mark Robinson, North Carolina’s Hitler-Quoting Gubernatorial Candidate

Robinson’s campaign communications director, Mike Lonergan, told Newsweek that Robinson was "speaking about the enemies of the U.S. and the Allied Powers during World War II, the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy."

Robinson has previously faced backlash for his public statements. In 2021, he released a report alleging that North Carolina public school teachers were "abusing" their positions to indoctrinate students. His political career began in 2018 after he attacked gun control and mocked the survivors of the February 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Throughout his tenure, he has made racist, antisemitic, homophobic and transphobic attacks, along with promoting conspiracy theories, including denial of the Holocaust, per The New York Times.

He has also spoken against the LGBTQ+ community, referring to its members as "filth,” and said trans women should be arrested when using women’s restrooms, per the Associated Press and The Washington Post.

Robinson has also posted racist, anti-Muslim and anti-Asian comments to his social media accounts, per Rolling Stone.

Related: North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mocked School Shooting Survivors in Unearthed Facebook Rants

Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty 

Mark Robinson in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 23, 2023.

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The politician has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump and is running against Democratic nominee Josh Stein in North Carolina's gubernatorial election this fall.

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