WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kari Lake, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and staunch supporter of the former president Donald Trumpurged her supporters in Arizona to “don a Glock gun” as they prepare for what she called an intense six months before the Nov. 5 election.
“We’re going to put on the armor of God. So maybe put on a Glock,” Lake told a cheering audience at a rally in Arizona on Sunday.
“You can put one (Glock) here,” she said, touching her right hip. “And one in the back or one in the front, whichever you decide.”
His campaign did not respond to requests seeking comment.
Lake, 54, is seeking the Republican nomination in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent. The Arizona vote will play a key role in determining whether Democrats maintain their narrow 51-49 Senate majority. A former local news anchor, Lake made an unsuccessful bid for Arizona governor two years ago .
Arizona, a swing state that narrowly won as Democratic Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, could also play a crucial role in this year’s presidential election.
Lake’s comments came a day before Trump’s trial in New York on criminal charges stemming from alleged secret payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Trump has sometimes used violent imagery during his campaign events, particularly when lambasting immigrants and his opponents.
Lake warned his supporters that Trump was facing a “legal war,” which refers to an alleged strategic use of legal procedures to intimidate and hinder a candidate.
“The next six months are going to be tough,” she said, adding that Trump was “ready to keep fighting for us.”
“This is the time we have to save our country. He’s willing to sacrifice everything. For me, that’s why they’re coming after us,” Lake said.
Trump faces several criminal cases, including charges involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden over false claims of widespread voter fraud.
Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to stop the certification of Biden’s election, after Biden told them, in a fiery speech nearby, to “fight like a devil “.
(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)
yahoo
