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A far-right Republican South Carolina candidate for Congress has shocked many after vowing to hunt down and charge with treason American citizens who hold beliefs he deems "un-American."
Mark Burns, a televangelist, Christian nationalist and die-hard MAGA conservative, told White nationalist and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon he plans to "re-energize McCarthyism" and revive the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)—the cabal led by Republican Senator Joe McCarthy which blacklisted Americans under the guise of suspicion of being members of the Communist Party.
Instead, McCarthyism targeted Jews, LGBTQ+ people, racial and ethnic minorities and feminists far more than any actual communists.
Burns made his comments during an appearance on the conservative streaming service Real America's Voice.
See it below.
MAGA pastor Mark Burns vows that when he is elected to Congress, he will resurrect the House Un-American Activities Committee for the purpose of charging citizens, members of the media, and elected officials with treason.pic.twitter.com/6qYP659gWN— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1647353949
Burns told Bannon:
"When I'm elected, I am going to help formulate and re-energize a committee called 'HUAC.'"
"HUAC is the House of Un-American Activities Committee [sic]. This is a committee... that existed in the 40s and 50s.
"But it's a committee that its sole purpose is to identify Americans, media, elected officials who are doing un-American activities and to hold them for treason here in America."
HUAC was formulated in 1938 to surveil and investigate private American citizens suspected of disloyalty and treason, which was defined by the committee as having leftist political affiliations like membership in the Communist Party.
McCarthy's committee would often pressure friends and family of the supposed traitors to tell on them, and if they refused, they were presumed to be Communists themselves and were punished accordingly.
If this sounds eerily similar to the "witch hunts" in the play The Crucible, that's because playwright Arthur Miller wrote the play as an allegory for HUAC's initiatives, which disproportionally targeted people in the entertainment and media industries. This included many Black figures like singer Lena Horne and athlete Jackie Robinson, as well as actors like Lucille Ball and Charlie Chaplin, who fled the U.S. back to his native England because of HUAC's and McCarthy's attacks.
The notion of such a committee being revivified itself is distinctly un-American, but that of course has never stopped the far-right from agitating for its fascist vision for the country.
On Twitter, people found Burns' plans for America profoundly disturbing.
MAGA wants a return to the great days of McCarthy. 1 term 2x defeated FL retiree wants unfettered power while his cult wants unfettered persecution. Show up st the ballot box or you may be victim of the full fascist society they crave\n#wtpBLUE \n#DemVoice1 \n#ResistanceUnitedhttps://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1503737569456050180\u00a0\u2026— Russ Fraley (@Russ Fraley) 1647383422
Start with Fox Newspic.twitter.com/ZjUyg1K3Ni— 6102_Paul (@6102_Paul) 1647355981
We are bring back all the old nightmares (Cold War / WW3 / USSR / Inflation) might as well get the red scare started against people who don't want to wear MAGA hats— 3JT (@3JT) 1647363752
Wow. If that doesn't sound like Russia, I don't know what does.— Droid Mechanic (@Droid Mechanic) 1647366497
Just like any good old-fashioned inquisition...— Spooky01-1 (@Spooky01-1) 1647354273
Who decides what\u2019s \u201cun-American\u201d? I think attempting to change the results of a fair and legal election pretty high on that list. Not sure pastor Mark would agree.— EAE1975 (@EAE1975) 1647354453
Let's be sure @markburns, #RightWingChristian, is soundly defeated. Speaking of treason, has anyone heard him condemn the #Jan6thInsurrection?https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1503737569456050180\u00a0\u2026— Leland P. Maxwell (@Leland P. Maxwell) 1647393696
This Christian nationalist days when elected to Congress he will form a committee to prosecute un-American activity and use Q-anon conspiracy theories as they're basis of patriotism. These are scary people hiding behind Bibleshttps://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1503737569456050180\u00a0\u2026— Chris Pfeifer (@Chris Pfeifer) 1647375503
LOL nothing like thinking all that "un-American'ness" is everybody else "on the other side", when in fact, it's his side literally trying to overthrow Democracy because they don't like to lose elections.\n\nIt's always projection.— Hooliganius (As a lib, I feel owned) (@Hooliganius (As a lib, I feel owned)) 1647364791
Note: Mark "Burn Marks" Burns thinks that "treason" means "someone disagreeing with Mark Burns."https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1503737569456050180\u00a0\u2026— Dan \u00ab\u042f \u0437 \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u043e\u044e #Antifa\u00bb (@Dan \u00ab\u042f \u0437 \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u043e\u044e #Antifa\u00bb) 1647364052
Speaking of "un-American activities," prior to these horrifying comments, the good reverend Burns was most well known for lying about his biography including misrepresenting his military service--which is a crime.