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? If we lose this country, our children will never know freedom. Stand unite… https://t.co/TKnfZTdkHh— Madison Cawthorn (@Madison Cawthorn) 1633291185.0
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… https://t.co/fXB3xp90yj— Adam Parkhomenko (@Adam Parkhomenko) 1633310231.0
Historian here, the American republic was founded on the separation of church and state. https://t.co/UKRu7mdxEe— Manisha Sinha (@Manisha Sinha) 1633347808.0
Not only is this a bad interpretation of personalities in the Bible, the United States is not a theocracy. Religion… https://t.co/bDioXcfyCH— Christine Hyman for MO (@Christine Hyman for MO) 1633352397.0
As a general rule, the loudest and angriest Christians who wear their faith mostly for tribal purposes instead of t… https://t.co/qrGwuIlP0F— Heath Mayo (@Heath Mayo) 1633336708.0
This has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus and everything to do with the false idol of nationalism https://t.co/rIzpa0UAb4— Brian Sykes (@Brian Sykes) 1633354837.0
Cawthorn's biblical literacy was also called into question.
“Look at the Old Testament… how they upheld Christian values” That’s the part of the Bible before Christ. This i… https://t.co/BS90XztU9o— Ryan James Girdusky (@Ryan James Girdusky) 1633359347.0
For all the talk of a spiritual battle, not a single mention of caring for the poor, healing the sick, and welcomin… https://t.co/FGyaYz1Voj— Eric Gash (@Eric Gash) 1633360356.0
From Madison @CawthornforNC's new video: “Look at David, look at Daniel, look at Esther — look at all the people wh… https://t.co/LO95yUfZtt— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff Jacoby) 1633308635.0
Cawthorn is up for reelection in 2022.