Lt. Gov. Who Said ‘Some Folks Need Killing’ Speaks at RNC

North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s primetime address comes as Republicans accuse Democrats of using incendiary rhetoric

Mark Robinson, the Hitler-quoting, Beyoncé-bashing aspiring governor of North Carolina introduced himself to a national audience on the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday evening. In his brief remarks, Robinson offered a sober indictment of Joe Biden’s economic policies. “Under Joe Biden grocery prices have skyrocketed. Gas prices have nearly doubled. And in North Carolina factories just like the one I worked in are closing, leaving families feeling hopeless,” Robinson said in remarks that lasted just a few minutes.

The appearance represented a dramatic shift in tone for Robinson, who declared, “Some folks need killing!” during an appearance at a church in North Carolina less than two weeks before a gunman trained an AR-style rifle on former President Donald Trump at a rally in rural Pennsylvania on Saturday. Several prominent Republicans responded to the assassination attempt by criticizing by blaming Biden and Democrats for using incendiary rhetoric.

Organizers of the convention reportedly sought to control the number of speakers who would reference the shooting, which left one rally attendee dead and two wounded on Saturday. “There was concern that the topic would come up in every speech, which organizers wanted to avoid,” NBC News’ Matt Dixon reported.

Robinson, the sitting lieutenant governor of North Carolina, is currently running for the top job against state Attorney General Josh Stein (D). He did not mention the assassination attempt.

Given his well-documented history of incendiary political rhetoric, that was probably a wise decision. Robinson has made a name for himself as a figure willing to defend gun rights in the hours and days after shooting tragedies. He skyrocketed to the national stage in 2018 after a speech he made to the Greensboro city council — opposing its decision to cancel a gun show in the wake of the Parkland shooting — went viral.

Since then, his weapon of choice — semiautomatic AR-style rifles, like the one used by Trump’s assailant — and his anti-government sentiment have become consistent themes on the campaign trail.

Editor’s picks

“I’m going stand up and I’m going to tell you that I’m going to keep my AR-15, ‘cause if you want it and think you can come take it by force, you got another thing coming,” Robinson said in previously unreported remarks delivered in 2021. “‘Cause the first thing you’re going to catch is the two two three or five, five, six headed straight at you.”

In separate remarks, in 2022, delivered less than 24 hours after a racially-motivated shooter massacred 10 people in Buffalo, New York, Robinson said: “I’ll tell anybody, I got them AR-15s at home and I like to go target shooting and all that. That’s not what they’re there for.” His guns, he added, are there “in case the government gets too big for its britches.”

Robinson has returned to the suggestion that he would turn his guns on law enforcement on one more than one occasion. “When the chips are down, when the FBI is knocking on my door, will I cower, will I comply, or will I stand up and fight? Folks, it’s time to stand up and fight,” Robinson said at an event in Florida earlier this year.

On Saturday, in the immediate aftermath of the attempt on Trump’s life, Robinson recorded a video message urging the country to come together. While he struck a solemn tone and called for unity, Robinson gleefully ridiculed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul after a disturbed man broke into his home and attacked him with a hammer, fracturing his skull. Hours after the October 28 attack, Robinson shared a meme featuring a suggested Halloween costume for anyone who wanted to dress up as Pelosi’s attacker on Facebook, implying that the story about the attack was fabricated. Robinson captioned the post: “I’m sorry Paul I don’t believe you or the press!!!!”

Trending

Destroying one’s enemies is a theme that Robinson has returned to repeatedly over the years and as he has been campaigning for governor. At an event in 2022, Robinson told supporters that, when faced with adversity, one must “put on the whole ARMOR of God… and then do like David: Go into battle and take the head of your enemy in God’s name.”

Speaking just a few weeks ago, Robinson put it even more bluntly: “Some folks need killing! It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity!” Robinson said at a June 30 appearance at a church in White Lake, North Carolina. “We need to start handling our business again.” In the context of his remarks, it seems clear that the “wicked people,” and “people who have evil intent” to whom he is referring are political enemies.