A Republican candidate for a Florida state House seat said Monday that President Barack Obama should be executed for war crimes, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“I’m past impeachment. It’s time to arrest him and hang him high,” read a tweet that Joshua Black, whose website said he formerly practiced street evangelism in St. Louis, Mo., retweeted. Black, who is African-American, added: “Agreed.”
Black also tweeted that “execution is the appropriate punishment for traitors.” According to the Times, Black explained that he advocated for Obama’s death because the president had ordered a drone strike that killed an American.
“He should be executed for treason,” Black, who works as a taxi driver, according to the Times, said. “I think the appropriate punishment is death. They killed Benedict Arnold. (Obama) shouldn’t be allowed to kill Americans without a trial.”
Benedict Arnold, it should be noted, was not executed. Black later acknowledged the error on his Twitter page.
Black’s campaign website said that his political involvement began in 2012 “as I tried to influence the Republican presidential primary.” He also proclaimed on the site that “Republicans have a serious communication problem.”
Florida House District 68, where Black has declared his candidacy, is currently held by a Democrat, Dwight Dudley.
