US constitution allows for socialists to be shot, claims Montana Republican

Rodney Garcia could not cite the law allowing socialists to be shot or jailed

Related Video: Trump says US will 'never be a socialist country' (Montana House of Representatives)

After claiming it was legal for socialists to be shot or imprisoned, Republican state representative Rodney Garcia has earned the ire of not only his opponents, but the condemnation of his own party.

During a Republican party gathering in Helena, Montana on Friday, Mr Garcia commented that he was concerned about socialists “entering our government” and socialists “everywhere” in Billings.

He then said the US constitution calls for socialists to either be shot or jailed, according to the Billings Gazette.

A local reporter asked Mr Garcia to clarify his statements on Saturday, which prompted the state representative to double down on his comments.

“So actually in the Constitution of the United States if they are found guilty of being a socialist member you either go to prison or are shot,” Mr Garcia said.

The reporter noted that Mr Garcia could not cite where in the constitution it called for the death and/or imprisonment of socialists, and that when asked if it would be fair to shoot or jail a socialist living in the state, he replied: "Yes."

“They’re enemies of the free state. What do we do with our enemies in war? In Vietnam, Afghanistan, all those. What did we do?” Mr Garcia said. “I agree with my Constitution. That’s what makes us free. We’re not a democracy, we’re a Republic Constitution.”

Mr Garcia predictably faced criticism for the comments, including from inside his own party.

Spenser Merwin, the executive director of the Montana Republican Party, gave a statement to the Associated Press condemning Mr Garcia’s comments.

“Under no circumstance is violence against someone with opposing political views acceptable,” he said. ”It’s disappointing that this isolated incident took away from the weekend’s events which showcased the strength of our statewide candidates and the importance of the upcoming election.”

The state’s Democrats were quick to attack Mr Garcia and his history of controversial statements. Robyn Driscoll, the state’s Democratic party chair, took aim at the state representative in a comment to the Billings Gazette.

“Rodney Garcia has brazenly flaunted his conviction for a domestic dispute, called single moms deadbeats, and was only elected because he created an illegal campaign cash scam,” Ms Driscoll said. “Now he's publicly calling for people to be shot.”

Mr Garcia’s fear mongering over socialists echoes similar language used by Donald Trump, who often refers to Democrats as “radical socialists” and who famously claimed the US would “never become a socialist country” during his 2019 State of the Union address.