Democratic nominee’s violent rhetoric on major Trump aid raises concerns over past remarks

A Democratic congressional candidate’s history of violent rhetoric is under fire after his public promise to “kick the crap” from Donald Trump’s top aide Stephen Miller resurfaced online.

“Stephen Miller needs to be banged! This guy is a fucking worm. I’d be willing to go to jail for – I mean, how long would I have to crack him a few times?” said North Carolina congressional candidate Richard Ojeda while taping one of his regular “Ojeda LIVE” livestreams in March 2022.

“I would be willing to go to jail to beat him up,” he added. “I would be more than happy to be in an elevator with him and I would be screaming at him from the first to the fifth floor and I would be happy to go to jail.”

The Trump administration was quick to denounce this rhetoric.

“Unfortunately, Democrats’ disgusting support for political violence is nothing new,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital. “Neither Stephen Miller nor anyone else in the administration will back down from implementing President Trump’s agenda to make America great again. In the meantime, Richard Ojeda should ask for help.”

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North Carolina Democratic congressional candidate Richard Ojeda (left) is under fire for his past comments about how he would be willing to go to jail if he ever had the opportunity to “kick the shit out” of top Trump aide Stephen Miller. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Sarah Silbiger/CQ Roll Call)

Speaking in response to backlash over his comments, Ojeda said that despite his comments, he does not believe violence is the solution.

“The language I used in this video reflects my dissatisfaction with the way political figures like Steven (sic) Miller are leading the nation I served for 24 years in the United States military. I believe his conduct and that of many people who enable him betray our oath of office that I cannot accept,” the Democratic candidate said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.

“That said, political violence has no place in our society. I know that better than anyone. When I first ran for State Senate, I was beaten almost to death by a creek simply for putting my name on the ballot to defend my community. My family was unsure about leaving the emergency room that night, and I won my seat from a hospital bed. I survived my attack, but as we do know, many others have not succeeded. Political violence has reached darkness in our country and I would not use this same violence. words today.”

Ojeda also highlighted the fact that he grew up among coal miners, people who “talk tough and don’t mince words about how they feel.”

Criticism of Ojeda’s controversial rhetoric comes amid heightened concerns in the Republican Party about inflammatory and violent political rhetoric following the assassination of Charlie Kirk and multiple assassination attempts on President Donald Trump. Even Democrats have warned that “violent words precede violent actions” and that “we should have a culture of condemnation of any rhetoric that glorifies violence.”

Meanwhile, this week, Virginia Democratic candidate for attorney general Jay Jones came under fire after text messages surfaced in which he said his Republican colleague should be shot “two times in the head.”

Ojeda is running to represent North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District in the House of Representatives. A veteran of the prestigious 82nd Airborne Division, he served a brief stint in the West Virginia State Senate before making several unsuccessful attempts for Congress in both the House and Senate. These bids include two failed bids for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 and 2018, followed by a short-lived bid for president that preceded an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

During his current race, Ojeda has raised more money than any other Democratic candidate he faces in North Carolina’s upcoming Democratic primary, according to Federal Election Commission records.

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Richard Ojeda can be seen on the campaign trail during his brief 2020 presidential bid. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

In his comments to Fox News Digital, Ojeda noted that the remarks he is referring to are four years old and were made “long before” he considered running for Congress, even though he had already made three unsuccessful bids up to that point. He has also repeatedly reiterated that he condemns political violence.

“I admit I was angry then, and I still am now. Angry at what people like Stephen Miller are doing to this nation,” Ojeda concluded in his comments to Fox News Digital. “The fact that he occupies a place in our history books disgusts me, and I think it disgusts a lot of Americans. Steven Miller is racist.”

WATCH: LAWMAKERS STRUGGLE OVER HOW TO APPROACH HATE POLITICAL RHETORIC FOLLOWING KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

Charlie Kirk warned his supporters to be wary of the “assassination culture” within the left months before his own assassination on the campus of Utah Valley University. (Getty Images)

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Before his assassination last month, Kirk warned that “assassination culture” was spreading on the left in a social media post. At the time, months before his death, Kirk’s post cited survey data showing that 55 percent of left-leaning respondents believed Trump’s killing could be justified.

Kirk called the violent dynamic “a natural consequence of left-wing protest culture” and accused the left of tolerating “violence and chaos,” while castigating “the cowardice” of local prosecutors and school officials for their complicity in promoting the trend toward violent attitudes.