Far-right Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback posted a video of himself on Tuesday, toting an AR-15 above his head outside his campaign headquarters — and vowing to use it on anyone who threatens himself or his campaign staff with physical harm.
This comes after Fishback, a 31-year-old hedge fund manager, claimed his headquarters was targeted by an arsonist after a fire started in his yard over the weekend.
"If you threaten our campaign, if you lay hands on a single one of our volunteers, if you come back to this home when our staff, our volunteers are working hard, we're not waiting for the police. We're going to shoot you with an AR-15, sight unseen, 5.56," said Fishback, as his supporters cheered in the background.
"That's what we're going to do. It's very simple," he continued. "Shall be infringed. We have a right to self-defense as this campaign, we will never compromise that right."
Fishback, who has been described as part of the white supremacist online "Groyper" movement despite his denials, is running an outsider campaign to replace retiring Gov. Ron DeSantis, opposing President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).
Since the campaign started, Fishback has hurled racial slurs at Donalds, who is Black — calling him "By'rone," comparing his political donations to a slave auction, and saying Donalds would "turn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto." Fishback has also fantasized about former CNN reporter Don Lemon being lynched, and has faced allegations that he romantically pursued underage girls.

