Madison Cawthorn releases chilling video calling on Christians to “fight for our country”

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is known as one of the most extreme members of the Republican party. Critics say he helped instigate the January 6 MAGA riot at the U.S. Capitol and has shown support for white supremacy. He has repeatedly pushed the false claim that the presidential election was stolen.

But now he really crossed the line.

Related: Rachel Maddow reveals shocking new evidence about MAGA riot on air to stunned Congressman

A watchdog organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), is calling for Cawthorn to be stripped of his committee assignments after a speech in which he again promoted violence and threatened to usurp our democracy.

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The speech took place at an August 29 event held by the Macon County Republican Party in Franklin, North Carolina, during which Cawthorn falsely state that President Joe Biden stole the election from Donald Trump. He said that if elections continue down this path of bring “rigged” and “stolen,” then it would “lead to one place, and it’s bloodshed.”

Cawthorn said he dreaded the idea of taking up arms against fellow Americans, but that he was willing to “defend our liberty at all costs.”

A video of the speech was posted to the Macon County Republican Party’s Facebook page, but has been taken down after Cawthorn’s comments sparked national outrage. The video, however, is still on YouTube.

In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder wrote that Cawthorn’s seat in the House does not give him the right to threaten America’s democratic institutions.

“These statements disgrace his office and undermine the pillars of our system of government,” Bookbinder wrote. “It is your duty to protect both the institution of the House of Representatives and the American people from a member who is willing to employ the power and influence of his office to attack the fabric of our democracy.”

Bookbinder compared Cawthorn’s actions to that of conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA), who was in fact stripped of her  committee assignments due to a history of inflammatory remarks, including showing support for the claim that the fastest way to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from her perch would be “a bullet to the head.”

The letter also said that before his speech, Cawthorn held a gun someone had asked him to sign and promoted gun rights while emphasizing that “we will need to be storing up some ammunition.”

Bookbinder also referenced a threat to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, when Cawthorn reportedly said, “I will remove Joe Biden from office, and then, when Kamala Harris inevitably screws up, we will take them down, one at a time.”

Cawthorn’s spokesman Luke Ball claimed that by “take them down,” Cawthorn actually meant utilizing “constitutional mechanisms” to remove them from office. The letters also emphasized that others have condemned Cawthorn’s statements as well, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WI), who said Cawthorn “was using language that seems intended to incite violence.”

Bookbinder concluded by saying that Cawthorn’s statement makes it clear he is more than willing to incite violence like the kind that occurred at the Capitol on January 6.

“We are living through a time of unprecedented danger to our democratic system of governance,” Bookbinder said, “influential leaders seem willing to abandon a commitment to free and fair elections in favor of ensuring victory for themselves and their allies at all costs…We therefore request that you limit the scope of Rep. Cawthorn’s potential malign influence by removing him from his committee assignments.”

On October 3, Cawthorn released a video encouraging “strong, god-fearing patriots” to “stand up” and “take our country back,” using footage from that speech. Cawthorn used religion to say those who are faithful are obligated to stand up against “tyranny.”