Despite the fact that Florida Republicans have distanced themselves from Joshua Black—a GOP hopeful to represent District 68 in the Florida House of Representatives—Black is refusing to back down from his claims that Obama is a criminal and ought to be executed, Raw Story reports.
In fact, the only backtracking the taxi driver-hoping-to-turn-politician has done since sending out the fateful tweet in which he called for the president to be hanged is over the method of execution.
"I know that we don’t use hanging as a method of execution here in the U.S. anymore, so be it," Black told Tampa’s Fox Channel 13 during an interview in a Wal-Mart parking lot. "Whatever method is applicable for the situation, I just want justice to be served."
The aspiring politician, who tags Obama as a war criminal, believes that the president is responsible in the drone killings of alleged al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki and his teenage son, comparing it to George Zimmerman’s slaying of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
"When George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, he got a trial. And whatever was going to happen came out of that trial. President Obama kills a 15-year-old, somebody else’s teenage son, and gets no trial," he said.
Chris Latvala, who is running in the nearby 67th District, called Black an "embarrassment" and the "loser of the week."
Black’s Democratic challenger in District 68, Dwight Dudley, said, "It’s pretty evident he is not someone who is serious or responsible or appropriate to run for public office."
Black, however, remains unfazed. "I don’t care," he stated bluntly about the criticism he’s been facing.
The Republican has already received attention from the Secret Service for what some view as a threat toward the president, but Black insists that was never his intention. "Not with all the guns he has around him, no. That’s the whole reason for having Secret Service, that’s the whole reason for having firearms, is personal protection," he said.
Read more at the Raw Story.