Florida candidate advocates shooting federal law enforcement officers
A Florida GOP candidate reportedly proposed a plan that would authorize Sunshine State residents to gun down federal law enforcement agents.
Aspiring State House representative Luis Miguel was suspended from Twitter after flirting with a call for political violence, Florida Politics reported Friday.
“Under my plan, all Floridians will be able to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF, and all other federal troops on sight,” Miguel allegedly tweeted.
Luis Miguel has posted inflammatory rhetoric on social media. (Facebook /)
The tweet, which was reportedly scrubbed from the Internet, added “Let freedom ring.”
Despite being disciplined by Twitter, Ruiz remained active on Instagram and Facebook Friday evening, where he has shared similarly radical positions. On Thursday, he posted a note claiming it is a “God given right to buy full auto firearms.”
The candidate from the Jacksonville area also seemed to suggest secession in a Facebook message that suggests Florida severs “all ties” with the federal government and “Make Florida a free state.”
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On Aug. 9, Miguel expressed frustration with Federal officer’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home, where they allegedly seized confidential information Trump had removed from the White House after being voted out of office.
He also called for the execution of Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday.
Incumbent Rep. Bobby Payne told Florida Politics politicians like his opponent tend to make sensational statements as a substitute for substance.
“The FBI is law enforcement,” Payne added.
The two are campaigning in an open primary that takes place Tuesday. Payne said he’s never met Miguel. According to Florida Politics, Miguel has struggled to raise money and depends on social media for messaging. But he told the political site being banned from Twitter does not impact him “at all.”
Miguel, who identifies as a “Proud Christian nationalist” on Facebook, told Florida Politics he stands by his approval to gun down feds.
Prominent Republican politicians have called for the FBI to be either abolished of defunded. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has condemned that rhetoric, arguing the “Republican party is the party of law and order.”
