In a recent speech on freedom, the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina discussed how he believes the country is “slipping away” from the Declaration of Independence and that “wicked people” ought to be punished by the military and the police.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has made contentious remarks during an Independence Day speech at an extreme conservative church for the second year in a row. He spoke of “hell’s gates” in 2023 and specifically mentioned teachers and LGBTQ+ individuals. Prior to Robinson’s June 30 address at Bladen County’s Lake Church for the Fourth of July, the pastor who was hosting him expressed his belief that President Joe Biden is being manipulated by the devil.

Although Robinson went beyond that, his speech—which is still accessible on the church’s Facebook page—has drawn notice for his remarks regarding why, in his opinion, “some folks need killing,” citing the deaths of Japanese and Germans during World War II.

Robinson stated, “There was a time when we used to meet evil on the battlefield,” as The New Republic first reported. You know what we did to it, too? We destroyed it. We didn’t argue over it. We didn’t dispute over it. We didn’t argue over it. We destroyed it. What did we do when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor? We killed the Japanese army and navy as we flew to Japan.

“We didn’t even quibble about it. I didn’t start this fight, you did! You want to be left alone, you should have left me alone. We didn’t argue and capitulate and talk about, ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t fight the Nazis that hard.’ No, they’re bad. Kill them. Some liberal somewhere is gonna say that sounds awful. Too bad,” Robinson said.

“Get mad at me if you want to. Some folks need killing,” he said.

The majority of Robinson’s address was devoted to discussing freedom, honoring warriors from the Revolutionary War, the Union in the Civil War, and the sacrifices made by parents whose sons or daughters fought in the Vietnam War. But when he talked about the punishment he wanted for “wicked people,” it went beyond the conflict.