Florida GOP candidate William Braddock, running for a primary Tampa Bay-area congressional seat, threatened to send assassins to make one of his opponents, Anna Paulina Luna, "disappear," in a secret recording obtained by Politico.
"I really don't want to have to end anybody's life for the good of the people of the United States of America," he told conservative activist Erin Olszewski over the phone. "That will break my heart. But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Luna is a fucking speed bump in the road. She's a dead squirrel you run over every day when you leave the neighborhood."
"I have access to a hit squad, too, Ukrainians and Russians … don't get caught out in public supporting Luna … Luna's gonna go down and I hope it's by herself," Braddock said in the recording, referring to Luna at one point as a "stupid cunt."
When Olszewski asked what would happen if Luna won, Braddock said, "She's gonna be gone. Period. That's the end of the discussion. Luna is not an issue." And when Olszewski pressed him on the issue, he said, "I call up my Russian and Ukrainian hit squad, and within 24 hours, they're sending me pictures of her disappearing … No, I'm not joking. Like, this is beyond my control this point."
From Politico:
During a 30-minute call with a conservative activist that was recorded before he became a candidate, William Braddock repeatedly warned the activist to not support GOP candidate Anna Paulina Luna in the Republican primary for a Tampa Bay-area congressional seat because he had access to assassins. The seat is being vacated by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), who is running for governor. …
Reached by text message, Braddock refused to say whether he made any threats about Luna to the personwho recorded him, Erin Olszewski.
Asked repeatedly via text if he mentioned Russian-Ukrainian hit squads, Braddock wouldn't give a yes or no answer, saying he had not heard the recording and that it's "allegedly me … there is no proof of that." He also suggested the recording "may even be altered and edited." …
Olszewski denied editing or altering the recording. She said she made it because she was concerned about Braddock's "unhinged" dislike of Luna that he had previously expressed. After she made the recording just after midnight lastWednesday, she promptly turned it over to St. Petersburg, Fla., police and gave a heads-up to her friend Luna, who filed a petition for an injunction against Braddock. Luna received a temporary restraining order against him lastFriday. Braddock filed to run Monday.
