Twitter bans Florida’s Luis Miguel over call to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF agents

A Republican Florida state House candidate who wants to legalize shooting federal agents said Friday that he has been banned from Twitter after posting his platform on the social network.

Republican Luis Miguel told Florida Politics on Friday that he received a message from Twitter informing him of his permanent suspension. 

“Under my plan, all Floridians will be able to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF, and all other federal troops on sight,” Miguel wrote in his tweet, which was screencapped by Miami-based filmmaker Billy Corben. “Let freedom ring.”

The outrageous post, which Miguel also shared on Instagram and Facebook, appears to have vanished from his other social media accounts as well.

Miguel told Florida Politics that he stands by his statement, saying that such violence is justified because the IRS has been “weaponized by dissident forces.”

Miguel is running in an open primary in Florida’s recently redrawn 20th district, a predominately Republican area nestled between Gainesville and St. Augustine. He will square off against incumbent Rep. Bobby Payne of Palatka in the Aug. 23 primary.

Payne has out-raised his opponent by $100,000, with Miguel amassing a meager war chest of just over $4,000, according to Florida Politics.

Miguel’s statement comes amid widespread concern about renewed threats to law enforcement following the FBI’s Aug. 8 raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.