Far-right Congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina has frequently embraced religious extremism, white nationalism, and violence to exacerbate his base's animosity toward Democrats.
While defending the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol in a deadly failed insurrection this past January, Cawthorn hinted at a repeat of the riots and warned there would be "bloodshed" if Democrats continued on the current path. He cited the Viet Cong's killing of American troops as an example for how everyday Americans can take up arms against the government.
And on Monday, Cawthorn was accused of calling for a "holy war" in a bizarre new video making the rounds on Twitter.
Watch below
Where are you, men and women of faith?\n\nIf we lose this country, our children will never know freedom.\n\nStand united as men and women of faith to fight for America!pic.twitter.com/FQNKo8vfRs— Madison Cawthorn (@Madison Cawthorn) 1633291185
Cawthorn says in the video:
"I feel a spiritual battle going on on Capitol Hill. The only way that we take our country back is when strong, god-fearing patriots decide it is time for us to stand up and say no to your tyranny. Now is the time for our pastor and our congregations to stand up and declare boldly that as men and women of faith, we have a duty to stand against tyranny, we have a duty to be civically involved, we have a duty to save this country for the next generation."
He continues:
"It is time for the American Christian church to come out of the shadows, to say no longer are we going to allow our culture to be determined by people who hate the things that we believe in. ... If we lose this country today, if we bend the knee to the Democrats today, our country will be lost forever and our children will never know what freedom is."
The extremist sentiment raised alarm bells on social media.
This young man is a radicalized insurrectionist who is now calling for a holy war. He should not be in Congress. He should be behind bars.https://twitter.com/cawthornfornc/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Adam Parkhomenko (@Adam Parkhomenko) 1633310231
Historian here, the American republic was founded on the separation of church and state.https://twitter.com/cawthornfornc/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Manisha Sinha (@Manisha Sinha) 1633347808
Not only is this a bad interpretation of personalities in the Bible, the United States is not a theocracy. Religion belongs in church and home. Who\u2019s running against this guy? I need to send them a donation.https://twitter.com/cawthornfornc/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Christine Hyman for MO (@Christine Hyman for MO) 1633352397
As a general rule, the loudest and angriest Christians who wear their faith mostly for tribal purposes instead of true evangelism know the least about our faith. Disregard them, please.https://twitter.com/cawthornfornc/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Heath Mayo (@Heath Mayo) 1633336708
This has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus and everything to do with the false idol of nationalismhttps://twitter.com/CawthornforNC/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Brian Sykes (@Brian Sykes) 1633354837
Cawthorn's biblical literacy was also called into question.
\u201cLook at the Old Testament\u2026 how they upheld Christian values\u201d\n\nThat\u2019s the part of the Bible before Christ. \n\nThis isn\u2019t that hard folks.https://twitter.com/cawthornfornc/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Ryan James Girdusky (@Ryan James Girdusky) 1633359347
For all the talk of a spiritual battle, not a single mention of caring for the poor, healing the sick, and welcoming the stranger. My faith deserves a better messenger and our district needs a more honest member of Congress. \n#FaithInWNC #PeopleFirsthttps://twitter.com/CawthornforNC/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Eric Gash (@Eric Gash) 1633360356
I feel like you and I should have a conversation about Jesushttps://twitter.com/cawthornfornc/status/1444754061903990790\u00a0\u2026— Jasmine Beach-Ferrara (@Jasmine Beach-Ferrara) 1633353218
From Madison @CawthornforNC's new video: \u201cLook at David, look at Daniel, look at Esther \u2014 look at all the people who influenced the government of their day to uphold Christian principles.\u201d\n\nSo \ud835\ude35\ud835\ude29\ud835\ude22\ud835\ude35'\ud835\ude34 what those Jewish heroes of the Hebrew Bible were doing. Who knew?pic.twitter.com/wWdiGj6fVa— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff Jacoby) 1633308635
Cawthorn is up for reelection in 2022.
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